MANAMA, 15 January 2005 — Bahrain’s King Hamad yesterday appointed the second woman minister in a long-awaited reshuffle of the two-year-old Cabinet.
University of Bahrain’s Dean of Education Dr. Fatima Al-Balooshi was appointed Minister for Social Affairs.
Dr. Fatima will take over the ministry after its separation from the Ministry of Labor that will remain with former opposition figure Dr. Majeed Al-Alawi.
In April 2004, Dr. Nada Hafadh replaced Dr. Khalil Hassan as health minister. She was the first woman to be appointed a minister in Bahrain’s history.
The Cabinet reshuffle introduced two new ministers, appointed a number of advisers to the king and the Cabinet and moved current ministers to new posts.
It is the second change in the current government, headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa ibn Salman Al-Khalifa.
The current 23-member Cabinet was appointed in November 2002, a week after the national parliamentary elections.
The reshuffle also merged the ministries of industry and commerce and appointed former Minister of Industry Dr. Hassan Fakhro as its minister.
Former Commerce Minister Ali Al-Saleh remained in the government as minister of municipalities.
The former minister of municipalities, Dr. Mohammed Al-Sitri, will be in charge of the Ministry of Justice instead of Dr. Jawad Al-Arreydh who was appointed legal adviser to the Cabinet.
The information portfolio will be temporarily headed by the Minister of State for foreign Affairs Dr. Mohammed Abdulghaffar until the ministry is broken up into several independent organizations.
Former Minister of Information Nabeel Al-Hamer was named adviser to the king for information, a position he occupied before becoming a minister in April 2001.
The governor of the Bahrain Monetary Agency (central bank) Sheikh Ahmed ibn Mohammed Al-Khalifa was appointed Minister of Finance and National Economy replacing Abdullah Saif who was appointed economic adviser to the Cabinet.
Former Minister of State Dr. Abdulhussain Mirza was appointed Minister of Cabinet Affairs replacing Mohammed Al-Mutawa who was appointed cultural adviser to the Cabinet.
The reshuffle also spared Minister of State Abulnabi Al-Shoala.
