20 Surprising Facts That May Change Your Mind About Evil Dictators

16. Saddam Hussein Was Given The Keys To The City Of Detroit

There have only been 10 people in history who have been given the ornamental key to the City of Detroit. That list includes the late, great Sammy Davis Jr., Sesame Street favourite Elmo, as well as good old Saint Nick, Mr Santa Claus himself - who is annually given the key during the city's Thanksgiving Day Parade. But another surprising addition is the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who was given the key in 1980 in recognition for the vast sums of money he had donated to a church in Detroit. Luckily for the citizens of Detroit, Hussein never took this token of friendship as a mandate to carry out some of the atrocities in the city that he had on his own citizens in Iraq.