Abduljalil Khalil

Abduljalil Khalil
Abduljalil Khalil in September 2012
Born	Abduljalil Khalil Ibrahim Hassan (1961-12-14) 14 December 1961 (age 63) Bahrain
Education	MSc in Building Services Administration (Heriot-Watt University) BSc in Mechanical Engineering (King Saud University)
Occupation	Politician
Organization	Al Wefaq
Spouse	Afaf al-Jamri
Website	Blog Twitter

Abduljalil Khalil Ibrahim Hassan (also Abdul Jalil; Arabic: عبدالجليل خليل إبراهيم حسن; born 14 December 1961) is a Bahraini politician. He is former Member of Parliament of Al Wefaq political party.

Early life and career

Khalil was born in the village of Sanabis, Bahrain on 14 December 1961.[1] He studied mechanical engineering at King Saud University earning his BSc in January 1986.[1] In July 1999, he earned MSc building services administration from Heriot-Watt University.[1] Between 1995 and 2006, he worked at AERMEC, advancing from a field services engineer in March 1995 to a project manager in August 1999 and finally to a general manager in September 2000.[1] He writes regular opinion piece in Al Wasat local newspaper and is a board member of Bahrain Society of Engineers, the American Bahraini Friendship Society[1] and al-Jamri foundation, "which seeks to foster Sunni-Shi'a dialogue."[2] He also heads the Bahrain Society for University Students and is said to have "close associations with recent university graduates."[2] A WikiLeaks cable described him as being known for his "intelligence, management, administrative [and oratory] skills."[2]

Khalil is married to Afaf al-Jamri, a women's activist and writer.[2] She is the daughter of Shia cleric Abdul Amir al-Jamri, sister to Mansoor al-Jamri, editor-in-chief of Al-Wasat and Mohammed Jameel, a former member of parliament.[2] They have two sons and a daughter.[3]

Political life

In August 1988, Khalil was arrested in connection with opposition activities related to his father-in-law, with whom he had very strong relations.[2][4] He was subsequently sentenced to seven years in prison.[4] He was reportedly tortured during detention.[5] He was pardoned by the Emir (now king) in 2000.[2]

Khalil was a founding member of Al Wefaq political party in 2001.[1] He holds a senior position in the party.[6] In 2006, he was elected to the Council of Representatives, the lower house of the parliament[1] as a representative of the Capital Governorate's 4th district.[2] He headed the parliament's finance committee and led investigations into state properties.[1] He was noted for his ability to cooperate with other blocs despite sectarian differences.[7] He won by default in 2010, becoming the head of Al Wefaq's bloc.[8] In February 2011, Khalil and 17 other Al Wefaq MPs (the largest bloc)[9] submitted their resignations in protest against the government crackdown on Arab Spring-inspired protests.[10][11][12]

References

Footnotes

1. عبدالجليل خليل. Al-Wasat (in Arabic). 20 September 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
2. "SOME POTENTIAL NEW LEADERS IN BAHRAIN'S CHIEF SHI'A OPPOSITION PARTY". WikiLeaks (via The Daily Telegraph). 18 February 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
3. السيرة الذاتية لـ عبدالجليل خليل (in Arabic). jalilkhalil.org. 2010. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
4. Mansoor Al-Jamri (12 December 2007). الشيخ الجمري أوفى لشعبه... فأوفى له. Al-Wasat (in Arabic). Retrieved 7 June 2013.
5. Eric Reginald Lubbock Avebury (2006). Bahrain: A Brickwall: correspondence between Lord Avebury and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the British Government on the human rights situation in Bahrain. London: Parliamentary Human Rights Group. p. 50. ISBN 9780957023864. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
6. Alex Delmar-Morgan (23 November 2011). "Bahrain Braces for Report". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
7. "BAHRAIN'S SHIA OPPOSITION: MANAGING SECTARIAN PRESSURES AND FOCUSING ON 2010 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS". Wikileaks (via The Telegraph). 18 February 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
8. Ben Birnbaum (14 February 2011). "Bahrain activists protest for political reform". The Washington Times. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
9. Habib Toumi (29 March 2011). "Lower chamber accepts resignation of 11 Al Wefaq MPs". Gulf News. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
10. "Bahrain accepts resignation of opposition MPs". Al Jazeera. 17 May 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2013. The resignations, approved on Tuesday, were submitted in February in protest over the government's brutal crackdown on anti-government demonstrations.
11. W.G. Dunlop (27 February 2011). "Thousands protest in Bahrain as MPs resign". Google. Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
12. M. Cherif Bassiouni et al. 2011, pp. 75, 95.

Bibliography

• M. Cherif Bassiouni; Nigel S. Rodley; Philippe Kirsch; Badria Al-Awadhi; Mahnoush H. Arsanjani (2011). Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (PDF) (Report). Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry.