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Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa

{{Short description|Emir of Bahrain from 1961 to 1999}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}

{{Family name hatnote|lang=Arabic|Al Khalifa}}

{{Infobox royalty

| image = Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa 1998.jpg

| caption = Isa bin Salman in 1998

| succession = Emir of Bahrain

| reign = 16 August 1971 – 6 March 1999

| regent = Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa

| reg-type = {{nowrap|Prime Minister}}

| predecessor = Position established
Himself (as Hakim)

| successor = Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa

| succession1 = Hakim of Bahrain

| reign1 = 2 November 1961 – 16 August 1971

| regent1 = Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa

| reg-type1 = {{nowrap|Prime Minister}}

| coronation1 = 16 December 1961

| predecessor1 = Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa

| successor1 = Position abolished
Himself (as Emir)

| spouse = {{marriage|Hessa bint Salman Al Khalifa|8 May 1949}}

| issue = {{plainlist|

  • Hamad
  • Sheikh Rashid
  • Sheikh Mohammed
  • Sheikh Abdullah
  • Sheikh Ali
  • Sheikha Muneera
  • Sheikha Maryam
  • Sheikha Shaikha
  • Sheikha Noora}}

| royal house = Khalifa

| father = Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa

| mother = Moza bint Hamad Al Khalifa

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1933|6|3|df=y}}

| birth_place = Jasra, Bahrain{{efn|Bahrain was under the Persian Gulf Residency as a British protectorate state at the time of Hamad's birth.}}

| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1999|3|6|1933|6|3}}

| death_place = Manama, Bahrain{{efn|Bahrain was officially known as the State of Bahrain at the time of Hamad's death.}}

| place of burial = Al Rifa'a Cemetery

| religion = Sunni Islam

}}

Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa ({{Langx|ar|عيسى بن سلمان آل خليفة}}; 3 June 1933 – 6 March 1999) was a Bahraini royal who served as the first Emir of Bahrain from 1961 until his death in 1999 (after having previously ruled as Hakim of Bahrain until 16 August 1971).

Born in Jasra, Bahrain, he became emir upon the death of his father, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

Early life and reign

File:President Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan with Isa Bin Sulman Al-Khalifa.jpg

Isa was born in Jasra to Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Mouza bint Hamad Al Khalifa (1933-2009), the daughter of Hamad ibn Abdullah Al Khalifa, and succeeded his father as emir upon his death in November 1961. He was installed on 16 December.{{cite book|author=Bernard Reich|title=Political leaders of the contemporary Middle East and North Africa: a biographical dictionary

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3D5FulN2WqQC&pg=PA528|year=1990|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-26213-5|page=528}}{{cite web|title=Chronology for Shi'is in Bahrain

|url=http://www.refworld.org/docid/469f38671e.html|publisher=UNHCR|access-date=13 September 2014|year=2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140914000110/http://www.refworld.org/docid/469f38671e.html|archive-date=14 September 2014|url-status=live}}

Isa visited Ayetollah Mohsin Al Hakim in Najaf in 1968 to indicate his keenness to reinforce relationships with the Shia.{{cite journal|last=Al Jimri |first=Mansoor |title=Shia and the State in Bahrain |journal=Alternative Politics |date=November 2010 |issue=1 |url=http://www.alternatifpolitika.com/page/docs/Kasim_2010_Ozel_Sayi_1/Tam_Metin/Mansoor_AL-JAMRI.pdf |access-date=20 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927192438/http://www.alternatifpolitika.com/page/docs/Kasim_2010_Ozel_Sayi_1/Tam_Metin/Mansoor_AL-JAMRI.pdf |archive-date=27 September 2013 }}

File:Mohammad Mosaddak Ali met with Emir of Bahrain Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa at the Kings Palace in Bahrain.jpg with Emir of Bahrain Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa at the Kings Palace in Bahrain in 1994]]

During his reign, Bahrain gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1971. While the government initially considered joining the United Arab Emirates, Isa had his country withdraw (along with Qatar) over his dissatisfaction with the proposed constitution {{Citation needed|date=May 2015}}. He then attempted to introduce a moderate form of parliamentary democracy, and men (though not women) were given the vote in parliamentary elections in 1973.{{cite journal|last=Wright|first=Stephen|title=Generational change|journal=Durham Middle East Papers|date=June 2006|url=http://dro.dur.ac.uk/456/1/Wright.pdf|access-date=10 April 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518115114/http://dro.dur.ac.uk/456/1/Wright.pdf|archive-date=18 May 2015|url-status=live}} In August 1975, however, he dissolved Parliament because it refused to pass the government-sponsored State Security Law of 1974.{{cite news|title=Democratic test ended|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hE9OAAAAIBAJ&pg=7281,3075838&dq=isa+bin+salman+al+khalifa&hl=en

|access-date=10 April 2013|newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|date=28 August 1975|agency=AP|location=Manama}} The parliamentary system was never restored in his lifetime and forced the emir to contend with occasional protests from the leftist and Islamist camps, which reached their peak in 1994 (see: History of Bahrain). {{Citation needed|date=April 2012}}

During his reign there was an arrangement between him and his brother, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman,{{cite journal|last=Wright|first=Steven|title=Fixing the Kingdom: Political Evolution and Socio-Economic Challenges in Bahrain|journal=CIRS|year=2008

|url=http://qspace.qu.edu.qa/bitstream/handle/10576/10759/No_3_Fixing_the_Kingdom.pdf?sequence=1|access-date=10 April 2013}} whereby the Emir was assigned a diplomatic and ceremonial role, while Khalifa controlled the government and economy as Prime Minister.

Isa was one of the founders of the Dar Al Maal Al Islami Trust which was initiated by Saudi royal Mohammed bin Faisal Al Saud, King Faisal's son, in 1981.{{cite book|author=Mohammed bin Faisal Al Saud|editor=Emmy Abdul Alim|title=Global Leaders in Islamic Finance: Industry Milestones and Reflections|year=2014|publisher=Wiley|location=Singapore|isbn=978-1-118-46524-0|page=56

|chapter=The Well of Influence|doi=10.1002/9781118638804.ch3 |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118638804.ch3}}

Marriage and children

{{unreferenced section|date=October 2016}}

Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa had one wife, his cousin Sheikha Hessa bint Salman Al Khalifa (1933–2009), daughter of Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa. They married on 8 May 1949. They had five sons and four daughters:

  • Hamad bin Isa (1950–), current king
  • Rashed bin Isa (–17 December 2011)
  • Mohamed bin Isa, Commander of the National Guard (1997–2008)
  • Abdullah bin Isa, Vice President of the Higher Committee for the Horseback riding club
  • Ali bin Isa, Minister of the Royal Court Affairs (1955–)
  • Munira bint Isa
  • Maryam bint Isa
  • Shaikha bint Isa
  • Noura bint Isa

Legacy and death

File:500 Fils of Bahrain, Isa bin Salman (Isa Town) - 1968.png: 500 Fils of Bahrain, with portrait of Isa bin Salman on the front]]

During his 38 years as Emir, the economic transformation of Bahrain into a modern nation and a key financial centre in the Persian Gulf area took place. Nevertheless, critics note that he also dissolved Parliament, taking on absolute power.

Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa died of a heart attack on 6 March 1999 at the Government House in Manama, shortly after a meeting with the United States defense secretary William Cohen.{{cite news|title=Bahrain's ninth al Khalifa|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/291757.stm|access-date=10 April 2013|newspaper=BBC|date=6 March 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403184507/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/291757.stm|archive-date=3 April 2013|url-status=live}} He was 65.{{cite news|last=Jehl|first=Douglas|title=Sheik Isa, 65, Emir of Bahrain Who Built Non-Oil Economy|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/07/world/sheik-isa-65-emir-of-bahrain-who-built-non-oil-economy.html|access-date=10 April 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=7 March 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116202816/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/07/world/sheik-isa-65-emir-of-bahrain-who-built-non-oil-economy.html|archive-date=16 January 2014|url-status=live}} The last function he attended was the funeral of King Hussein of Jordan, which took place less than a month before his death.

US President Bill Clinton expressed "deep sadness", as did Graham{{clarify|date=July 2022}} at the news of the emir's death calling him "a good friend of peace". UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan also expressed "great sadness", and described the emir as "a force for stability" in the region. He was buried at the Al-Rifa'a cemetery.

He was succeeded by his eldest son, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Foreign honours

Titles

See also

References

{{reflist|33em}}

Notes

{{notelist}}

External links

{{Commons category}}

  • {{cite book|last=Lawson|first=Fred|title=Political Leaders of the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa: A Biographical Dictionary|year=1990|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-26213-5|pages=267–271|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3D5FulN2WqQC&pg=PA267|editor=Bernard Reich|chapter=Isa bin Sulman Al Khalifah}}

{{S-start}}

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{{Succession box |

before=Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa |

title=Emir of Bahrain|

years=1961–1999|

after=Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa

}}

{{S-end}}

{{Monarchs of Bahrain}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa}}

Category:1931 births

Category:1999 deaths

Category:People from the Northern Governorate

Isa Salman Hamad

Category:Muslim monarchs

Category:Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour

Category:Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George

Category:Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Category:Grand Cordons of the National Order of the Cedar

Category:Collars of the Order of Isabella the Catholic

Category:Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Category:Recipients of Supreme Order of the Renaissance (Jordan)

Category:Recipients of the Order of Al-Hussein bin Ali

Category:20th-century Bahraini people

Category:20th-century monarchs in the Middle East

Category:Emirs of Bahrain