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Bahrain: King Hamad
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Despite what appears to be a serious deterioration of the political situation in Bahrain, there is a mood of optimism within the widening circles of opposition. Six years after the imposition by the ruler, Sheikh Hamad, of his own constitution, new political realities are emerging that indicate the end of the ruling family’s “era of deception”.
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Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa succeeded the throne in March 1999, after the death of his father Shaikh Isa bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Bahrain's ruler since 1961. He championed a program of democratic reform shortly after his succession. In November 2000, Shaikh Hamad established a committee to create a blueprint to transform Bahrain from a hereditary emirate to a constitutional monarchy within 2 years. The resulting "National Action Charter" was presented to the Bahraini public in a referendum in February 2001. In the first comprehensive public vote in Bahrain since the 1970s, 94.8% of voters overwhelmingly endorsed the charter. That same month, Shaikh Hamad pardoned all political prisoners and detainees, including those who had been imprisoned, exiled or detained on security charges.
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In 2004 King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa introduced a project that uses information communication technology (ICT) to support K-12 education in Bahrain. This project is named King Hamad Schools of Future. The objective of this project is to connect and link all schools within the kingdom with the internet and introduce the idea of education everywhere.
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When George W. Bush became at the weekend the first US president to visit Bahrain, he was quick to compliment the small archipelago’s ruler. King Hamad bin Issa was at the “forefront of providing hope for people
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