Heir apparent and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain
Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
(
Arabic
:
??????? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ?????????
,
romanized
:
Salm?n bin ?amad bin ??s? ?l Khal?fa
; born 21 October 1969)
[1]
is
Crown Prince
and
Prime Minister of Bahrain
. He is also the deputy supreme commander of the
Bahrain Defence Force
.
[2]
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Prince Salman is the eldest son of King
Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
of Bahrain
[3]
and his first wife,
Princess Sabika bint Ebrahim Al Khalifa
.
[4]
The Prince completed his
high school
education at
Bahrain School
, and then went on to earn a
BA
degree in
political science
from the
American University
in
Washington D.C.
(1992), followed by a
M.Phil.
degree in
history and philosophy of science
from
Queens' College, Cambridge
, England (1994).
[5]
Prince Salman established the
Crown Prince's International Scholarship Program
in 1999
[6]
[7]
to guide Bahrain's young people into the 21st century. Under the program, the most able high school students from Bahrain are awarded
scholarships
to continue their higher education overseas, and return to productively contribute to the development of Bahrain. More than 260 students from across Bahrain's society have been awarded the scholarship, and have had the opportunity to study abroad ? including the UK, the USA and France.
Career
[
edit
]
Prior to assuming the duties of crown prince, Salman was vice-chairman of the
Bahrain Centre for Studies and Research
(BCSR) (1992?1995), Undersecretary of Defence at the
Ministry of Defence
(1995?1999), and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the BCSR (1995?1999).
[
citation needed
]
Salman was sworn in as
Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain
on 9 March 1999 and held the post of
commander-in-chief
of the
Bahrain Defence Force
from 22 March 1999 to 6 January 2008.
[
citation needed
]
On 24 February 2001, Prince Salman was appointed as chairman of the committee for the implementation of the
National Action Charter
. The Charter was approved by over 98% in a referendum held in February 2001 and provided a comprehensive blueprint for Bahrain's future development based on transparency, cooperation and popular participation. The committee proposed a number of laws to implement the National Charter, including laws on government procurements and
freedom of the press
.
[
citation needed
]
On 3 March 2002, Prince Salman was appointed chairman of the Economic Development Board, which is responsible for formulating and overseeing the Bahrain's
economic development strategy
, and aims to attract
foreign direct investment
into Bahrain. He also chairs the following committees:
- Government Executive Committee
- Natural Resources and Economic Security Committee
- Higher Urban Planning Committee
On 6 January 2008, King Hamad issued a
royal decree
appointing Salman as deputy supreme commander of the Bahrain Defence Force to oversee the management and implementation of public policy as well as military, administrative, economic and financial plans of the Bahrain defence force and the national guard.
[
citation needed
]
In March 2013, Prince Salman was appointed by the King as first deputy prime minister, charged with overseeing the ongoing development of executive agencies and government institutions in the kingdom.
[
citation needed
]
On 11 November 2020, Prince Salman was appointed as Prime Minister after the death of his great uncle, Prime Minister
Prince Khalifa bin Salman
, who had held the position for more than fifty years.
[8]
[9]
On 19 September 2022, he attended the
state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II
at
Westminster Abbey
,
London
.
[10]
Marriage and children
[
edit
]
Prince Salman was married to
Sheikha Hala bint Duaij Al Khalifa
until 2005. Sheikha Hala was the youngest daughter of Sheikh Duaij bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, the Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance and National Economy. Hala was honorary president of the Information Centre for Women and Children, and Chair of the Bahrain Society for Mental Retardation. She died in June 2018.
[11]
They have two sons and two daughters:
- Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (born 7 March 1990), attended
American University
in Washington DC, and graduated in 2012. He is second in the line of succession to the Bahraini throne. Married, has three sons named Hamad, Abdullah and Salman.
- Mohammed bin Salman Al Khalifa (born 11 November 1992), educated at Bahrain School (Class of 2009). He graduated from the
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
in 2011
[12]
and later went on to graduate from
King's College London
in 2015.
[13]
He is sixth in the line of succession to the Bahraini throne. Married, has a son Ahmad and a daughter Basma.
- Fatima ? Al Dana bint Salman Al Khalifa
- Al Jude bint Salman Al Khalifa
Honours and awards
[
edit
]
Salman has been awarded a number of honors, including:
[14]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
at Wikimedia Commons
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