National Assembly (Bahrain)

The National Assembly (المجلس الوطني البحريني) is the legislative body of Bahrain. Parliament is bicameral, consisting of the 40 elected members of the Council of Representatives (the lower house) and the 40 royally-appointed members of the Consultative Council (the upper house). The joint session of the National Assembly is chaired by the Speaker of the Council of Representatives, or by the Speaker of the Consultative Council if the former is absent.

National Assembly under the 1973 constitution
Under the 1973 Constitution (Article 43), the National Assembly was a single chamber parliament consisting of forty members elected by "universal suffrage". However, the then Amir, Shaikh Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifah decreed that women would not be considered as "universal suffrage" and were not allowed to vote in the 1973 parliamentary elections.

History of the National Assembly of Bahrain
The first ever National Assembly in Bahrain was elected in 1973 under the statutes of the first constitution which was promulgated of that same year. In 1975, the Assembly was dissolved by the then Emir Shaikh Isa ibn Salman al-Khalifa because it refused to pass the government sponsored State Security Law of 1974. The Emir subsequently did not allow the Assembly to meet again or hold elections during his lifetime.

Members of the 1973 National Assembly
• # Hassan Al Jishi (President of National Assembly)

• # Khalifa Ahmed Al Bin Ali (Vice-President of National Assembly)

• # Ali Qasim Rabea

• # Isa Ahmed Qasim

• # Abdulhadi Khalaf

• # Rasool Al-Jishi

• # Abdullah Ali Al-Moawada

• # Mohammed Jaber Al-Sabah

• # Ali Bin Ebrahim Abdul Aal

• # Jassim Mohamed Murad

• # Isa Hassan Al-Thawadi

• # Ibrahim Mohammed Hassan Fakhro

• # Abdul Amir Al-Jamri

• # Abdullah Mansoor Isa

• # Alawi Makki Alharkhat

• # Khalid Ibrahim Al-Thawadi

• # Mustafa Mohammed Al-Qassab

• # Abdullah Al-Shaikh Mohammed Al-Madani

• # Abbas Mohammed Ali

• # Yousif Salman Kamal

• # Abdul Aziz Mansoor Al-Aali

• # Hassan Ali Al-Mutawaj

• # Salman Al shaikh Mohammed

• # Ibrahim bin Salman al Khalifa

• # Khalifa Al Dhahrani

• # Mohammed Salman Ahmed Hammad

• # Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Harmas (now Al Harmesi Al-Hajeri)

• # Mohsin Hameed Al-Marhoon

• # Ali Saleh Al-Saleh

• # Hamad Abdullah Abel

After the death of Isa ibn Salman al-Khalifa in 1999, his son Shaikh Hamad ibn Isa al-Khalifah, the new ruler of Bahrain promulgated the Constitution of 2002. That same year elections were held for the Council of Representatives and he appointed the members for the Consultative Council, forming the first National Assembly since 1975.