Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa is the king of Bahrain. Having taken over as the Emir (or Amir) of the Emirate in March 1999, Sheikh Hamad initiated a constitutional amendment that established Bahrain as a hereditary monarchy with him as the King.

Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa is the king of Bahrain. Having taken over as the Emir (or Amir) of the Emirate in March 1999, Sheikh Hamad initiated a constitutional amendment that established Bahrain as a hereditary monarchy with him as the King.

Born in Riffa, Bahrain, in January 1950, King Hamad began studying at the Government Primary and Secondary Schools in the country. Upon finishing his primary education, he was declared Crown Prince of Bahrain on June 27, 1964. He continued his education in the United Kingdom, where he attended the Leys Public School in Cambridge and graduated from the Mons Officer Cadet School at Aldershot in 1968. He also studied at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst.

Returning to Bahrain, King Hamad was instrumental in the setting up of he Bahrain Defence Force (BDF). The BDF was created in August 1968 through a royal charter, and he remained its Commander In Chief until he became Emir in 1999.

King Hamad married his cousin Sheikha Sabika Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa on October 09, 1968. They have three sons and one daughter.

He headed the Bahrain Defence Directorate, and was also a member of the State Council since its establishment in January 1970. Bahrain had, along with Qatar and the Trucial States, attempted to create a union of Emirates in 1968 when the British government decided to end British administrative presence in the Persian Gulf. The Emirates failed to reach consensus on the terms of union, and on August 15, 1971, Bahrain became fully independent. King Hamad was appointed the Minister of Defence.

After obtaining a National Diploma in Military Administration from the Industrial College for the Military Forces in Washington in May 1972, King Hamad enrolled at the US Army Command and Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in the USA in June 1972, graduating with honors in Leadership a year later.

Returning to Bahrain, he was appointed Deputy to the Head of the Al Khalifa Family Council in 1974. King Hamad was also appointed the President of the Supreme Council of Youth and Sports in 1975. He graduated as a helicopter pilot in 1978, and created the Bahrain Air Force soon after. He also established the Bahrain Historical Documents Centre in 1978, and the Bahrain Centre for Studies and Research in 1981.

After his fathers unexpected demise on March 06, 1999, Sheikh Hamad succeeded to the throne. He introduced social and political reform, including the release of large numbers of political detainees, the return to Bahrain of some in exile, the formation of a Human Rights Committee, and the granting of the vote to women and the instituting of elections.

King Hamad has several hobbies, including Falconry, Golf, Fishing, Tennis, Soccer and Horse Riding.

King Hamad created the National Action Charter in 2001 to bring constitutional rule to Bahrain. Aimed at ending unrest and riots that erupted sporadically throughout the 1990s, the Charter received overwhelming support in a national referendum. However the Constitution that the King promulgated in 2002 was not deemed to have implemented all the promises made in the Charter.