Bahraini Monarchs
A history of Bahraini monarchs.
Contents
Kingdom of Bahrain
The kingdom of Bahrain is synonymous with the Al Khalifa dynasty.
The island of Bahrain had been a largely-independent protectorate of Persia. In 1783, Ahmed bin Muhammad bin Khalifa led the Bani Utbah, a tribal alliance from the Arabian peninsula, to war against the regional governor Nasr Al-Madhkur. Following this conquest, he settled there and claimed the title hakim.
British Vassal
The kingdom was vassalized by the British in 1861. Critics of the Al Khalifa dynasty or British interventions were punished alike, with arrest and exile (often to India).
In 1927, Reza Shah Pahlavi asserted legitimate rule over the island, prompting the British to brutally repress the Shiite majority which was viewed as disloyal to the Sunni ruling class.
Emirate of Bahrain
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi maintained Iranian claims, eventually leading to the governments of Iran and the UK inviting a UN-organized independence referendum. Held in March and April of 1970, Bahrainis overwhelmingly favored independence. By August of the next year, Iran and the UK had passed resolutions accepting the referendum and releasing claims. Independence was declared in 1971, at which point Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa claimed the title of emir. Bahrain quickly joined both the UN and Arab League.
At one point union with the United Arab Emirates was considered, but Isa abandoned negotiations in protest of the constitution.
Parliamentary elections with male suffrage were held in 1973. When the State Security Law of 1974 was rejected though, Isa dissolved parliament permanently in August 1975.
In 1981, a plot to overthrow the kingdom and install the Shiite cleric Hadi al-Husayni al-Modarresi was discovered. This was attributed to the new Iranian government, and led into a breakdown of their bilateral relations.
Constitutional Monarchy
An uprising demanding liberalization of the state began in 1994, and ended only when Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa became the emir in 1999 and held a referendum for the National Action Charter. This established the current constitutional monarchy, now formally the kingdom of Bahrain.
There remains no significant counter to royal prerogative. The emir appoints the prime minister, who is not required to be an elected MP, and often is the crown prince. Half of the cabinet is composed of royal family members.
Mass demonstrations erupted in 2011 as part of the Arab Spring. These were largely characterized as Shiite protests, which were brutally repressed.