Bahrain » Politics

Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy headed by the King, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa; the head of government is the Prime Minister, Shaykh Khalifa ibn Salman al Khalifa, who presides over a cabinet of 15 members. Bahrain has a bicameral legislature with a lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, elected by universal suffrage and the upper house, the Shura Council, appointed by the King. Both houses have forty members. The inaugural elections were held in 2002, with parliamentarians serving four year terms. 

The King recently created the Supreme Judicial Council to regulate the country's courts and institutionalise the separation of the administrative and judicial branches of government.

On 11 and 12 November 2005, Bahrain hosted the Forum for the Future bringing together leaders from the Middle East and G8 countries to discuss political and economic reform in the region.

Bahrain is the current President of the United Nations General Assembly, and has appointed lawyer and women's rights activist Haya-Rashed-Al-Khalifa to head the world body, taking over from Swedish diplomat, Jan Eliasson.