The Supreme Defense Council (SDC) (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

:مجلس الدفاع الأعلى) is

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

'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 The Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) is the military force of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Bahrain Defence Force is under direct command and leadership of a commander-in-chief who holds the rank of field marshal. The Government has a Minister of Defe ...

(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 is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wife ...

(king's eldest son), the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

(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 U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

Minister of Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

, Minister of Defence and Director of the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level 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, collectio ...

(NSA). Meetings are usually held at

Al-Sakhir Palace Al-Sakhir Palace, also known as Sakhir Palace, is a palace in the Sakhir desert region of western Bahrain. The palace lies off the Zallaq Highway, northeast of the Bahrain International Circuit, the town of Zallaq and the University of Bahrain ...

History

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

, 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 Al Khalifa (; 3 June 1931 – 6 March 1999) was the first emir of Bahrain from 1961 until his death in 1999. Born in Jasra, Bahrain, he became emir upon the death of his father, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. Early life and reig ...

on 6 March 1999.Bahrain's PM CV
Retrieved 4 March 2012 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 a national-level 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, collectio ...

, 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 ( ar, علي سلمان أحمد سلمان) is a Bahraini Twelver Shi'a cleric and the Secretary-General of the Al-Wefaq political society. In January 1995, the Bahraini government forcibly exiled him to Dubai for leadi ...

, the head of

Al Wefaq Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society ( ar, جمعية الوفاق الوطني الإسلامية; ), sometimes shortened to simply Al-Wefaq, was a Shi'a Bahraini political party, that operates clandestinely after being ordered by the highest cou ...

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

* 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

Relation with Bandargate scandal

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.

References

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