Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, Bahrain

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

The House of Khalifa (Arabic: آل خليفة‎ Āl Khalīfah) is the ruling family of Bahrain. The Al Khalifas profess Sunni Islam and belong to the Utub tribe that migrated from Najd to Kuwait in the early 18th century. The Utub tribe is part of the larger Anizah tribal confederation. The current head of the family is Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who became the Emir of Bahrain in 1999 and proclaimed himself King of Bahrain in 2002.

As of 2010, roughly half of the serving cabinet ministers of Bahrain have been selected from the Al Khalifa royal family, while the country's onlyPrime Minister, Khalifah bin Salman al-Khalifah, (serving since independence in 1971) is also from the Al Khalifa family and is the uncle of the current King.

Length of rule: 12 years. Hamad became Emir of Bahrain in 1999 upon the death of his father, Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and declared himself king in 2002. The country has been run by the al-Khalifa dynasty since 1783, and they hold unmatched political power to this day.

Most despotic acts: While Bahrain is often cited as one of the most progressive Middle Eastern countries, uprisings in the late 1990s as well as right now have been fueled as much by resentment from the repressed, poor Shiite majority against their privileged Sunni rulers as anything else. In both uprisings, accusations against the government of gross human rights violations and protester murders have been plentiful. At least 11 demonstrators have been killed so far this year. Most recently, Bahraini security forces stand accused of indiscriminate abduction and torture of dissidents. source