He then traveled from England to Kansas State in the United States in June 1971 to join the College of Command and Chief of Staff. He was awarded the Medal of Freedom by the mayor of Kansas City. After two years in the United States, he returned to Bahrain with a degree with honors in leading the Chiefs, on June 26, 1972. In 1977, he got trained on helicopter pilotage, where he graduated as a leader pilot for this type of aircraft on January 14, 1978.
Crown Princedom
He became crown prince in June 27, 1964, where he held the position at an early age when he is still in the fourteen years of age, and thus became the second man in the hierarchy of power in Bahrain after his father Sheikh Isa.
Works as Crown Prince
In 1975 he became head of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports. During his tenure he showed great interest in the origin of the Arabian horse breeds in Bahrain, and in his period the horse sport witnessed a remarkable boom. His interests then moved from studying and documenting horse history to study the history of the Bahraini people, he established a center to collect Bahraini documents and he became an activist in this field, he was making an effort to get those documents collected from countries that had historical ties with Bahrain, and paid a special attention of the documents of his ancestors (The Utub), he then successively published that in a private journal which he called “The Document.”
Emir of Bahrain
The death of the Emir of Bahrain, Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa was announced in March 6, 1999, Bahraini Cabinet held an extraordinary session where they mourned Sheikh Isa and transferred the reign to Sheikh Hamad, and in the February 14, 2002 the state turned into a kingdom and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, became King of Bahrain.
International Relations
Bahrain has excellent relationships with the international community; it has more than 30 diplomatic missions around the world in addition to hosting more than 60 diplomatic missions of various countries around the world.
Constitutional framework
Al-Khalifa family took over the reins of power in Bahrain since the eighteenth century, and the ruler of Bahrain since that time took the title of "Prince “or “Emir” which has been accompanying him until the issuing of the amended Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2002 which included references to the Royal form as one of the pillars of the regime in the Kingdom, thus the head of state was titled "king".
The King heads the three authorities; the executive authority, the Council of Ministers, and the Ministers. The King is responsible for the legislature with the National Council, which consists of two councils, the first is “Shura Council” which is composed of forty members appointed by a royal decree, and the second is the House of Representatives, which consists of forty members elected by direct secret ballot election. Finally, the King heads the Supreme Judicial Council and the adjudications are issued in the name of the King, all in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
| Rulers of Bahrain |
From 1796-1783 |
| Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, |
1843-1796 |
| Salman bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, |
1825-1796 |
| Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, |
1834-1825 |
| Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, |
1869-1834 |
| Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, |
1869 |
| Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa, |
1932-1869 |
| Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, |
1942-1932 |
| Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, |
1961-1942 |
| Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, |
1999-1961 |
| Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, |
1999, and until now |
Reform initiatives in the Kingdom of Bahrain
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Chairman of the Economic Development Board endeavored to develop a comprehensive reform program for Bahrain, that includes the Bahraini labor market and economy, as well as the reform of education and training in order to prepare the Kingdom to meet the challenges it will face over the next decade.
The individual projects have witnessed a remarkable development based on four main themes that will create a better economic environment for business, these four themes are:
- From routine to excellence: creating a favorable environment for business
- Government as a regulator, not as an operator: reducing the role of government in the economy and allow the private sector to drive growth
- Justice and Accountability: reforming the regulatory and judicial system and improving the application of the laws.
- Stimulation of the private sector opportunities: Launching of initiatives that aim at stimulating private sector growth
All of these initiatives include a team and a board of directors of the project, comprising representatives from the relevant public sector institutions (ministries and other governmental bodies and agencies), as well as those groups with special interest, leading to development appropriate policies for the development of business.
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