It consist of 14 members, all of whom are drawn from the Al Khalifa ruling family.
[4] The Supreme Defense Council was formed on 8 December 1973 and was headed by the former Prime Minister, Khalifa ibn Salman Al Khalifa, a position he held until his nephew, Hamad (the current king) succeeded his father Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa on 6 March 1999.
[5] According to Al Bandar report issued by Salah Albandar in 2006 when he was working as consultant for the government, the Supreme Council is the creator and supervisor of a secret plan that classifies Shia as a main threat to the royal family.
[1] In November 2011, Khalifa bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the king's cousin, and then the director of the country's National Security Agency (NSA), was appointed Secretary General of the Supreme Defense Council,[6] after a governmental commission of inquiry report confirmed the use of torture by NSA which led to the death of a co-founder and board member of the independent Alwasat daily newspaper.
[3]: 245 This move was criticized by Ali Salman, the head of Al Wefaq main opposition party, who called it "a promotion for someone who should have been punished according to the recommendations of BICI".