Khalifah ibn Sulman Al Khalifah
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| Khalifa ibn Sulman Al Khalifa | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 1970 |
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| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
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| Born | 1936 Bahrain (?) |
| Political party | No Party Affiliation |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Khalifa ibn Salman Al Khalifa (خليفة بن سلمان آل خليفة) (born 22 November 1936) is the Prime Minister of Bahrain. He is the uncle of the reigning King, Hamad ibn Isa al-Khalifah, and has been Prime Minister since 1970, originally being appointed by his brother, the then emir, Isa ibn Salman al-Khalifa. He is one of the longest-serving prime ministers in the world. He still retains his post, although under the 2002 Constitution he has lost some of his power on paper with the King having the authority to appoint and (along with parliament) dismiss ministers. He is known to be the richest member of the ruling family and one of the biggest merchants in Bahrain.
Torture in Bahrain took place during Khalifah's position as Prime Minister of the country.
In 2002, a focus group study conducted by the National Democratic Institute to gauge the popular opinions of Bahrainis found that the "Prime Minister is admired for his business acumen, though Bahrainis in both communities [Shia and Sunni] say it is time for him to retire."[1] It went on:
| “ | The Prime Minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa is viewed with distinctly less affection than his nephew, the king. He is viewed as an effective yet cold, businesslike person – responsible both for the modernization of the country over the last generation and for the fact that the country has not found a way to equitably distribute the benefits of that modernization. Usually with a bit of nervous laughter, suggesting they would not have dared voice this thought a few months or years ago, people in several of the groups say his time has passed and he should retire. | ” |
Participants in the focus groups were quoted in the report as saying about Khalifa:
| “ | As a businessman, he is excellent. Investment and development is there – he brought it directly from Thailand and elsewhere. But it goes directly, to, well, we don't know where it goes directly. [Shia man, 30s, university education]
The way that he ruled before, I don’t think it will be suitable. And I don’t think he will change because he has personal interests. For example, with his businesses and the public policy they don't go together. [Shia man, 50s, university graduate] I believe he is not the man for this stage. For me, I think he should retire from politics. [Shia man, 50s, university graduate] He could have done a lot, because he has been ruling the country for ages. He could have done a lot more than he did. (Shia woman, 30s, high school education) Enough is enough. He should retire and give another person the chance. (Sunni woman, 30s to 50s, university education) |
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[edit] References
- ^ Melia, Thomas O. (August 2002). "The People of Bahrain Want to Participate in The King's Political Reform Project" (PDF). National Democratic Institute. Retrieved on 2007-01-19.
[edit] See also
| Bahrain |
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