King of Bahrain in the context of "Bani Utbah invasion of Bahrain"

The House of Khalifa (Arabic: آل خليفة, romanized: Āl Khalīfah) is the ruling family of the Kingdom of Bahrain. They profess Sunni Islam and belong to the Anizah tribe. Some members of this tribe joined the Utub alliance which migrated from Najd in central Arabia to Kuwait, then ruled all of Qatar, more specifically Al Zubarah, which they built and ruled over before settling in Bahrain in the early 17th century. The current head of the family is King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who became the Emir of Bahrain in 1999 and proclaimed himself King of Bahrain in 2002, in fact becoming a constitutional monarch.

As of 2025, roughly half of the serving cabinet ministers of Bahrain were members of the Al Khalifa royal family, while the country's Prime Minister, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, is also from the Al Khalifa family and is the son of the current King.

Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (born 28 January 1950) has been the ruler of Bahrain since 1999. A member of the ruling Al Khalifa dynasty, he has reigned as King of Bahrain since 2002, having previously reigned as emir.
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The Cabinet of Bahrain is the chief executive body of the Kingdom of Bahrain. According to Article 32 (b) of the 2002 Constitution, "executive authority is vested in the King together with the Council of Ministers and Ministers". The Council of Ministers (Cabinet) is appointed directly by the King (Article 33d).

Bahrain has had two Prime Ministers since the country's independence in 1971, Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the uncle of the reigning King Hamad ibn Isa al-Khalifah. Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa died on 11 November 2020, and was succeeded by the King's son, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

The prime minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain (Arabic: رئيس مجلس الوزراء في مملكة البحرين, romanized: Raʼīs Majlis al-Wuzarāʼ fī Mamlakat al-Baḥrayn) is the head of government of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The prime minister is directly appointed by the king. The constitution does not require the prime minister to be an elected member of the Council of Representatives.

Since becoming independent, Bahrain has only had two prime ministers: Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the king's paternal uncle, and Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the crown prince. Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa died on 11 November 2020.

The judiciary of Bahrain is a system of three courts that interpret and apply the laws of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Namely, these three courts are the Civil Courts, Sharia Courts, and Criminal Courts. Civil Courts have jurisdiction to adjudicate all commercial, civil, and administrative disputes, as well disputes related to the personal status and domestic relations of non-Muslims. The Sharia Courts, which apply Sharia law, have jurisdiction over all aspects of the personal status of Muslims. Criminal Courts have the jurisdiction to deal with criminal matters.

Each of these three courts have lower and high courts, whose judges are nominated by the Supreme Judicial Council and appointed by decree by the King of Bahrain. The Supreme Judicial Council, chaired by the King, appoints the members of the Constitutional Court. To secure renewal of these positions, judges may be prone to consider it necessary to take decisions not unfavourable to the wishes or interests of the Government.

The Consultative Council (Arabic: مجلس الشورى, romanized: Majlis al-shura), also known as the Shura Council, is the upper house of the National Assembly, the main legislative body of Bahrain.

The Council comprises 40 members appointed directly by the King of Bahrain. The 40 nominated members of the Consultative Council combined with the 40 elected members of the Council of Representatives form the National Assembly of Bahrain. All laws (except for "Royal decrees") have to be passed by both chambers of the Assembly. This allows technical expertise and minority communities a role within the legislative process: in Bahrain, a Bahraini Christian woman, Alees Samaan and a Bahraini Jewish man have been appointed. After there was widespread disappointment that no women were elected to the lower house in 2002's general election, four women were appointed to the Consultative Council.

The crown prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain (Arabic: ولي عهد مملكة البحرين) is the heir apparent to the King of Bahrain and official heir presumptive to the King.

Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa was sworn in as Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain on 9 March 1999 and held the post of commander-in-chief of the Bahrain Defence Force from 22 March 1999 to 6 January 2008.