Bahrain changes 17 in biggest ever cabinet reshuffle

• Bahrain’s Gulf monarchy issues a royal decree ordering 17 cabinet changes, including a new oil minister.
• The revamp comes ahead of lower-house elections in November and as Bahrain tries to reposition itself for a post-pandemic era.
• The last cabinet reshuffle was in 2002 when 10 new ministers were appointed.

Bahrain, Gulf monarchy issued a royal decree ordering 17 cabinet changes, including a new oil minister, in its biggest reshuffle in 20 years, officials said.

The revamp, signed by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, comes ahead of lower-house elections in November and as Bahrain, a financial center with oil resources and significant debt, tries to reposition itself for a post-pandemic era.

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Oil Minister Mohammed bin Mubarak was one of 13 new cabinet members appointed by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, who took office in November 2020.

The 22-strong cabinet also includes four women holding the health, housing, and urban planning, sustainable development, and tourism portfolios. Its youngest member is 36.

“The reshuffle comes at a pivotal time in the post-Covid economic recovery era,” a government source said on Tuesday, adding: “The country is focused on moving into a new phase.”

Bahrain’s last cabinet reshuffle was in 2002 when 10 new ministers were appointed. The only other cabinet reshuffle was in 1973.

Three of the four deputy prime minister positions were axed in the current reshuffle, leaving Sheikh Khalid bin Abdullah al-Khalifa as the sole deputy PM.

Bahrain, a member of the OPEC-plus group of oil producers, carried debts standing at 129 percent of GDP last year, according to the International Monetary Fund.

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However, the IMF said last month that high oil prices and growth in non-oil GDP should help it carry out economic reforms and work toward budget balance.

The island nation, which has a population of only 1.7 million people and was rocked by unrest during the Arab Spring protests in 2011, defied Arab consensus by agreeing to normalize relations with Israel in 2020.