King of Bahrain
The King of the Kingdom of Bahrain is the monarch and head of state of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The House of Khalifa has been the ruling family of the country since the 1783 Arab invasion that led to the end of Persian rule in Bahrain. Between 1783 and 1971, the Bahraini monarch held the title of hakim, and, from 1971 until 2002, the title of emir. On 14 February 2002, the emir of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, declared Bahrain a kingdom and proclaimed himself the first king. The king enjoys wide-ranging powers, which include appointing the prime minister and the cabinet, holding supreme command over the Defence Force, chairing the Higher Judicial Council, appointing the parliament's upper house and dissolving its elected lower house.
List of rulers
Hakims of Bahrain (1783–1971)
The Arabic title of the Hakim, as transliterated, was Hakim al-Bahrayn. The Hakim also held the honorific title of sheikh.| Portrait | Name | Reign | Notes |
| Sheikh Ahmed bin Muhammad bin Khalifa | 1783 – 18 July 1795 | Leader of the 1783 Arab invasion | |
| Sheikh Salman bin Ahmad Al Khalifa | 1795–1825 | As co-regent | |
| Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmad Al Khalifa | 1795–1843 | As co-regent | |
| Sheikh Khalifa bin Sulman Al Khalifa | 1825–1834 | As co-regent with Abdullah bin Ahmad Al Khalifa | |
| Sheikh Muhammad bin Khalifa Al Khalifa | 1834–1842 | First reign as co-regent with Abdullah bin Ahmad Al Khalifa | |
| Sheikh Muhammad bin Khalifa Al Khalifa | 1843–1868 | Second reign | |
| Sheikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa | 1868–1869 | ||
| Sheikh Muhammad bin Khalifa Al Khalifa | 1869 | Third reign | |
| Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdullah Al Khalifa | September – 1 December 1869 | Deposed and exiled to India. Confined at Asirgarh Fort, but later removed to Chunar Fort, near Benares, where he died in 1877. | |
| Sheikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifa | 1 December 1869 – 26 May 1923 | Abdicated | |
| Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa | 27 May 1923 – 20 February 1942 | ||
| Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa | 20 February 1942 – 2 November 1961 | ||
| Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa | 2 November 1961 – 16 August 1971 |