Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2020

Credit – Wikipedia

Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa was born on October 21, 1969, in Riffa, Bahrain. He is the eldest of the twelve children of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, who has four wives, and the eldest of the four children and the eldest of the three sons of King Hamad and his first wife and his first cousin, Sabika bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa.

Salman has two brothers and one sister:

  • Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (born 1975), married
  • Hessa bint Salman al Khalid Al Khalifa, had two sons and two daughters
  • Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Khalifa (born 1977)
  • Sheikha Najla bint Hamad Al Khalifa (born 1981)

Salman has two half-brothers from his father’s second wife Sheia bint Hassan Al Khrayyesh Al Ajmi:

  • Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa (born 1987), married Shaikha bint Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum, daughter of the Emir of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, had one daughter and three sons
  • Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa (born 1989), married (1) Princess Sahab bint Abdullah Al Saud, daughter of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, had two sons, divorced (2) Sheikha Hessa bint Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalif, had one daughter (3) Nouf Al Ajmi

Salman has one half-brother and two half-sisters from his father’s third wife Hessa bint Faisal Muhammad Shreim Al-Marri:

  • Sheikh Faisal bin Hamad Al Khalifa (1991 – 2006), unmarried, died in a car accident
  • Sheikha Noura bint Hamad Al Khalifa (born 1993)
  • Sheikha Munira bint Hamad Al Khalifa (born 1990)

Salman has one half-brother and two half-sisters from his father’s fourth wife Binh bint Jabr Al-Nuaimi:

  • Sheikh Sultan bin Hamad Al Khalifa
  • Sheikha Hessa bint Hamad Al Khalifa married Sheikh Hashim bin Muhammad bin Salman Al Khalifa, had children
  • Sheikha Rima bint Hamad Al Khalifa (born 2002)

Salman attended the Bahrain School, a United States Department of Defense school located in Juffair, Manama, Bahrain. The student body is primarily the children of the United States Navy stationed in Bahrain. However, about half of the students are children of diplomatic personnel, employees of ARAMCO ( the state-owned oil company of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabi), and wealthy Bahraini citizens. After graduating from the Bahrain School, Hamad attended American University in Washington D.C. where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1992. He then attended Queens’ College, Cambridge in England, receiving a Master of Arts degree in the Philosophy of History in 1994.

Salman served as vice-chairman of the Bahrain Centre for Studies and Research from 1992–1995 and then served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1995–1999. In addition, Salman served as Undersecretary of Defence at the Ministry of Defence from 1995–1999.

On March 6, 1999, Salman’s grandfather Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Emir of Bahrain died and his father became Emir of Bahrain. Three days later, Salman was sworn in as Crown Prince of the Emirate of Bahrain. Following a national referendum, Bahrain was declared a constitutional monarchy in 2002, becoming the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Salman’s father Hamad became King of Bahrain.

Embed from Getty Images 
Crown Prince Salman with The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall in 2016

In his role as Crown Prince, Salman was appointed to the following positions:

  • Chairman of the Economic Development Board (appointed 2002): formulates and oversees Bahrain’s economic development strategy
  • Deputy Supreme Commander of the Bahrain Defence Force (appointed 2008)
  • First Deputy Prime Minister (appointed 2013)

Salman married Sheikha Hala bint D’aij Al Khalifa, the youngest daughter of D’aij bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, the Assistant Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Finance & National Economy. Hala was the Honorary President of the Women and Children Information Center and President of the Bahrain Society for Mental Retardation. She also began the “Be Free” campaign to protect children from abuse. On June 10, 2018, the state-run Bahrain News Agency announced Hala’s death. The press release had no details about Hala’s death but it described Hala as the “former wife” of Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa so it can be inferred that the couple had divorced.

Salman and Hala had two sons and two daughters:

  • Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (born 1990), second in the line of succession after his father, educated at Bahrain School, graduated from American University in Washington DC, married Sheikha Jawaher Bint Abdullah Bin Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, has three sons
  • Mohammed bin Salman Al Khalifa (born 1991), educated at Bahrain School, graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, graduated from King’s College in London, England, married, has a son and a daughter
  • Fatima Al Danah bint Salman Al Khalifa, attended Riffa Views International School in Al Mazrowiah, Bahrain
  • Al Joud bint Salman Al Khalifa

Salman attending the graduation ceremony of his daughter Sheikha Fatima Al Danah bint Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa from Riffa Views International School in 2017; Credit Website of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa

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Works Cited

  • Ar.wikipedia.org. 2020. سلمان بن حمد آل خليفة. [online] Available at: <https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B3%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%A8%D9%86_%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF_%D8%A2%D9%84_%D8%AE%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%81%D8%A9> [Accessed 7 August 2020].
  • En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Salman, Crown Prince Of Bahrain. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman,_Crown_Prince_of_Bahrain> [Accessed 7 August 2020].
  • Office of the First Deputy Prime Minister, K., 2020. About His Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa – Office Of The First Deputy Prime Minister, Kingdom Of Bahrain. [online] Fdpm.gov.bh. Available at: <https://www.fdpm.gov.bh/en/biography.html> [Accessed 7 August 2020].
  • Sheikha Hala, Wife of Bahrain’s Crown Prince, Dies. [online] @businessline. Available at: <https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/world/sheikha-hala-wife-of-bahrains-crown-prince-dies/article24127495.ece> [Accessed 7 August 2020].