The Supreme Defense Council (SDC) (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

:مجلس الدفاع الأعلى) is

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

's highest defense authority responsible for making highest level of decisions regarding defense and security. It consist of 14 members, all of whom are drawn from the Al Khalifa ruling family. It is headed by the King, who is also the Supreme Commander of Bahrain Defense Force (BDF) and includes: the

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

(king's eldest son), the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

(king's uncle), the Royal Court Minister and ten senior officials from the Al Khalifa family such as the Commander-in-Chief of BDF, and the heads of certain government agencies, such as the Minister of

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

, Minister of Interior, Minister of Defence and Director of the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...

(NSA). Meetings are usually held at Al-Sakhir Palace.

History

The Supreme Defense Council was formed on 8 December 1973 and was headed by the former

, Khalifa ibn Salman Al Khalifa, a position he held until his nephew, Hamad (the current king) succeeded his father

Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa (; 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). Bo ...

on 6 March 1999.Bahrain's PM CV
Retrieved 4 March 2012 According to Al Bandar report issued by Salah Albandar in 2006 when he was working as consultant for the government, the Supreme Council is the creator and supervisor of a secret plan that classifies Shia as a main threat to the royal family. The plan allegedly aims to marginalize Shia in all positions. In November 2011, Khalifa bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the king's cousin, and then the director of the country's

National Security Agency (NSA) The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence, director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global ...

, was appointed Secretary General of the Supreme Defense Council, after a governmental commission of inquiry report confirmed the use of torture by NSA which led to the death of a co-founder and board member of the independent Alwasat daily newspaper. This move was criticized by

Ali Salman Ali Salman Ahmed Salman () is a Bahraini Twelver Shi'ism, Twelver Shia Islam, Shi'a cleric and the Secretary-General of the Al Wefaq, Al-Wefaq political society. In January 1995, the Cabinet of Bahrain, Bahraini government forcibly exiled him to ...

, the head of Al Wefaq main opposition party, who called it "a promotion for someone who should have been punished according to the recommendations of BICI".

Members

The Council is headed by the king, who has the authority to appoint its members. The members are: * Commander-in-chief of Bahrain Defense Force * Deputy Commander-in-chief of Bahrain Defense Force. * Director of the NSA. * Ministers of: #Royal Court #Defense #National Guard # Interior #National Economy #

#Council of Ministers Affairs #Information #

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

References

{{Authority control 1973 establishments in Bahrain Government agencies of Bahrain Supreme Defence Council