FACTBOX: Iraq's former Deputy PM Aziz faces court

(Reuters) - Former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz faces trial on Tuesday over the execution of dozens of merchants in 1992. Here are some key facts on Saddam's once loyal spokesman and public face of the regime:

LIFE:

* Aziz was born to a humble family on January 6, 1936 in the Christian village of Tel Keif near Mosul, northern Iraq. He is a Chaldean Christian, Iraq's biggest Christian group, and his presence in Saddam's government was often held up as evidence of the former Iraqi leader's religious tolerance.

* He studied English literature at Baghdad University before pursuing a career in journalism. With Saddam's backing, he became editor of the Baath party's main newspaper, al-Thawra.

* Aziz and Saddam go back a long way. In the 1950s both were involved in the then-outlawed Baath party, which sought to oust the British-backed monarchy. Iraqis said he owed his political longevity in part to the fact that, as a Christian in a Muslim state, Aziz could never seriously threaten Saddam's power.

* Aziz, who named his second son Saddam, survived an assassination attempt by Iranian-backed radicals in 1980.

SADDAM'S DIPLOMAT:

* Aziz was appointed minister of information in the 1970s. In 1977 he joined the Revolutionary Command Council, the committee of senior Baath party officials ruling Iraq. He became deputy prime minister in 1979.

* Aziz has featured prominently in all three of Iraq's wars. He helped to win U.S. support for Iraq in its 1980-1988 war with Iran, and to forge strong economic ties with the Soviet Union.

* Aziz came to further prominence in the world media after the invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the crisis which ensued.

-- He played a starring diplomatic role in the run-up to the Gulf War when he was foreign minister, exhibiting faultless English, strong nerves and negotiating skills.

-- He famously refused a letter from the then President George Bush, father of U.S. President George W. Bush, to Saddam during 11th-hour talks in January 1991 because of its "humiliating" tone.

-- Days later, the U.S.-led coalition began a military campaign that ousted Iraqi troops from Kuwait.

* Subsequently Aziz traveled less, but still remained a prominent voice for the Iraqi leader. He last officially appeared in public on March 19, 2003 on the eve of the war to topple Saddam, to quell rumors he had been shot or defected.

DOWNFALL:

* Aziz was number 43 on the U.S. most-wanted list of Iraqi officials when he gave himself up to U.S. forces in April 2003 just two weeks after Saddam's regime fell.