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12 T1IC LEGAL STATUS OF THE ARABIAN GULF STATES

The internal administration in these Shaikhdoms will now be
y-A described:
i
Bahrain and Qatar
Modern systems of administration have been developed in Bahrain
and Qatar, where a number of government departments, such as
■
customs, education, electricity, finance, health, justice, passports,
police and public works, have been organised. Most of these depart­
ments have Arab directors, usually members of the ruling families,
\ but some of the technical departments have British experts as directors.
In Bahrain the Government is represented by a head office known as
the Secretariat which is in turn administered by a Secretary to the
Government. The latter is a British subject but he reports directly to
the Ruler, Shaikh Isa ibn Salman Al-Khalifah, who is responsible for
his appointment and dismissal. The Secretary acts as a co-ordinator
between the various departments of the State and issues a regular
State budget each year.1 In addition, he acts as a liaison officer between
the Ruler's Government and the local office of the British Political
Agent which protects the foreign interests of the Ruler.2 As regards
Qatar, there was practically no administration before 1949. But since
1950, there has been rapid evolution of proper administration on
departmental level. Also in that year a British financial adviser was
appointed. Subsequently, a regular budget was prepared.3 Recently,
the finance department has been converted into a Ministry of Finance,
with Shaikh Khalifah ibn Hamad Al-Thani, the Deputy Ruler and
Heir to the throne, becoming the Minister of Finance. Shaikh Khali­
fah, who now has effective control over the finance of the State, has
employed an Egyptian lawyer, Dr Hassan Kamel, as the Director-
General of the Government of Qatar. Dr Kamel has helped Shaikh
Khalifah in introducing some important fiscal and legal reforms in
1 The office of the Secretariat was known before 1957, as the Adviscratc. Sir
Charles Belgrave, to whom goes the credit of establishing an orderly and workable
administration in Bahrain, served in this office between 1926 and 1957, in his
capacity as the Adviser to the Government. The present Secretary to the Govern­
ment has followed in the steps of the former Adviser in continuing the practice
of issuing annual Administration Reports. However, it appears that the present
Reports are inferior, in quality and style, to the pre-1957 Reports. Also budget
accounts tend to be much summarised today. For a good comparison, sec Bahrain
Government, Annual Reports, Years 1950-65.
2 It is noteworthy that Bahrain appears to be the only Shaikhdom which has
retained the services of a British subject, first as an ‘Adviser’ and later as a ‘Sec­
retary’, for such a long period of time going back to 1926. In comparison, the
Shaikhdom of Qatar does not, at present, maintain a British Secretary to the
Government. The former British Adviser, whose service was terminated some years
ago, has now been replaced by an Arab Director-General. Similarly, in Kuwait
there was an Arab Secretary to the Government until her independence in 1961,
when the office of the Secretariat was converted into a Ministry of Foreign AfTairs.
3 Hay, op. cit., pp. 109-10.