King appoints son as deputy army chief

08 January 2008
The king of Bahrain has reinforced his family’s control of the armed forces, appointing his son, Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, as deputy commander-in-chief of the army.

King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa has also scrapped the position of defence minister, appointing the long-serving incumbent Sheikh Khalifa bin Ahmad al-Khalifa as commander-in-chief of the Bahrain Defence Force.

A royal decree on 7 January declared that the Crown Prince will "oversee the implementation of public policy and the military, administrative, economic and financial affairs of the Bahrain Defence Force and the National Guard, in addition to other authorities entrusted to him by the supreme commander [King Hamad]".

A MEED Subscription...

Subscribe or upgrade your current MEED.com package to support your strategic planning with the MENA region’s best source of business information. Proceed to our online shop below to find out more about the features in each package.