Bahrain Bahrain -- Government and Politics
Figure 8. Bahrain: Government Structure, 1993
Shaykh Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifa, ruler of Bahrain
Courtesy Embassy of Bahrain, Washington
Manama, capital of Bahrain
Courtesy Embassy of Bahrain, Washington
In 1993 Bahrain was a constitutional monarchy in the
form of
an amirate with an executive-cabinet form of government
and a
separate judiciary
(see
fig. 8). The amir is head of state
and
also supreme commander of the Bahrain Defense Force (BDF);
he
exercises ultimate authority in all matters pertaining to
the
government. In addition to the amir, Shaykh Isa ibn
Salman,
principal government officials include his eldest son and
heir
apparent, Hamad ibn Isa, who is commander in chief of the
BDF and
deputy prime minister, and several other members of the
ruling Al
Khalifa. In accordance with the constitution adopted in
1973, the
office of amir passes from father to eldest son unless the
amir
designates another male relative to succeed him. This
clause of
the constitution is not subject to amendment.
Although the amir has substantial executive powers, in
practice he has delegated decision-making authority to a
cabinet
since 1956, when an amiri decree created the
Administrative
Council, an eleven-member body that advised the ruler on
policy
and supervised the growing bureaucracy. In 1970 Shaykh Isa
ibn
Salman issued a decree that transformed the Administrative
Council into a twelve-member Council of Ministers. The
president
of the Council of Ministers, the prime minister, serves as
the
head of government. The amir appoints the prime minister,
who
then forms a government by selecting members of the
Council of
Ministers, albeit in consultation with the amir. The
ministers
are directly responsible to the prime minister, who, like
the
amir, has authority to veto a decision by any member of
the
council.
The Council of Ministers gradually expanded to include
eighteen members, including the prime minister and the
deputy
prime minister. In late 1992, the prime minister, deputy
prime
minister, and seven of the sixteen ministers were members
of the
ruling Al Khalifa. The prime minister, Khalifa ibn Salman,
is the
brother of the amir. The amir's son holds the cabinet rank
of
deputy prime minister. The amir's uncle, Major General
Khalifa
ibn Ahmad, is minister of defense; and the amir's two
first
cousins, Muhammad ibn Khalifa and Muhammad ibn Mubarak,
are
minister of interior and minister of foreign affairs,
respectively. Khalifa ibn Salman, the son of the amir's
second
cousin, is minister of labor and social affairs. A more
distantly
related cousin, Abd Allah ibn Khalid, a first cousin of
the
amir's grandfather, is minister of justice and Islamic
affairs.
Data as of January 1993
|