Ministry of Finance & National Economy (Bahrain)
The Ministry of Finance & National Economy (MOFNE) is responsible for formulating and implementing the financial policies of the Kingdom of Bahrain within the overall vision of the Bahrain Government. The Ministry prepares the state general budget in coordination with other ministries and public entities in a way that reflects the financial and economic objectives of the Kingdom, particularly regarding improving living standards and increasing levels of economic growth.

MOFNE assures the progress of public investment in compliance with the financial policies of the kingdom. It also manages the public debt and maintains its levels within internationally approved limits. Financial stability is sought through the best allocation of available financial resources.

In order to enhance bilateral relations with other countries in financial and economic areas, the ministry has entered into, and is in the process of, negotiating a number of bilateral and multilateral agreements to provide a legal framework for these relations. These agreements include, Inter Alia, 'Agreements on the Promotion and Protection of Investments', 'Agreements on the Avoidance of Double Taxation', 'Free trade Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding on Financial and Economic Cooperation'.

The current Minister of Finance & National Economy is H.E. Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, who was appointed on 4 December 2018.

History
In the early 70s, the State administrative apparatus was regulated by Decree No. (1) of 1970 establishing the State Council, which was then the cabinet. The State Council was mandated to carry out all tasks and responsibilities relating to the administration and organization of all executive affairs of the country, including State finance affairs, namely the preparation of the State budget as well as State public plan for the development of national economy and taking the necessary measures to implement them in accordance with the provisions of the laws-in-force. That Decree was subsequently followed by the issuance of many decrees and resolutions that regulate the Government executive apparatus. The following is a summary of the most important decrees and legislations relating to the organization of the Ministry of Finance from its establishment till the present time:

On 19 January 1970, Decree No. (2) of 1970  on State administrative organization was issued, organizing the Department of Finance and National Economy, which included the Directorates of Finance, Oil, Housing, Customs and Ports, and Posts.

After Bahrain’s independence, the State administrative structure was reorganized pursuant to Amiri Decree No. (2) of 1971 as well as Decree No. (3) of 1971  restructuring the Department of Finance and National Economy and the Department of Labor and Social Affairs. In this amendment, the Housing Department was moved from the Department of Finance and National Economy to the Department of Labor and Social Affairs.

After the appointment of Mr. Ibrahim Abdul-Karim as Director of the Directorate of Oil and Economy within the Department of Finance and National Economy under Resolution No. (3) of 1971, Decree No. (26) of 1972  was issued appointing him as Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance and National Economy on 31 December 1972.

In 1975, Amiri Decree No. (13) was issued, in accordance with which the Ministry of Finance was formed, in addition to the appointment of 15 ministers in the Government, including the appointment of Mr. Mahmoud Al-Sayed Ahmed Al-Alawi as Minister of Finance. In the same year, the Economy was separated from the Finance, as the Amiri Decree No. (15) of 1975  was issued, renaming the Ministry of Commerce and Industry as the Ministry of Commerce, Agriculture and Economy.

On 2 June 1976, Amiri Decree No. (5) of 1976  was issued, whereby the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Commerce, Agriculture and Economy were renamed. The Ministry of Finance was renamed as the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, and the Decree No. (6) of 1976  was issued appointing Mr. Ibrahim Abdul-Karim Mohamed as Minister of Finance and National Economy.

Amiri Decree No. (8) of 1976 was issued on 14 June 1976 amending Article (1) of the Amiri Decree No. (26) of 1975, restructuring the Ministry of Finance and National Economy to include the following Directorates:
 Planning and Economic Affairs
 Statistics
 General Organization for Pension funds
 State Budget
 Accounts
 Property and Services
 Customs
 Ports

Amiri Decree No. No. (14) of 1979 was issued establishing the Directorate of Central Stores at the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, followed by the Decree No. (2) of 1983  restructuring the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, and then the Decree No. (4) of 1994  reorganizing the Ministry of Finance and National Economy.

On 31 May 1999, the Amiri Decree No. (8) of 1999 was issued appointing Mr. Abdullah Hassan Saif as Minister of Finance and National Economy.

On 30 April 2003, Decree No. (35) of 2003  was issued, whereby a General Directorate of Free Trade Zones was established at the Customs and Ports Affairs of the Ministry of Finance and National Economy.

On 14 January 2005, Decree No. (7) of 2005  was issued with ministerial appointments including the appointment of HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohamed Al Khalifa as Minister of Finance.

On 8 May 2005, Decree No. (31) of 2005  was issued amending some of the provisions of Decree No. (9) of 2003 on the establishment and organization of the Economic Development Board, according to which some of the responsibilities and competencies of the Ministry were transferred to the Economic Development Board.

Decree No. (9) of 2007  was issued reorganizing the Ministry of Finance as follows:
 Customs, Ports and Free Trade Zones Affairs, reporting to the Minister of Finance.
 Monitoring and Follow-up Directorate, reporting to the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance.
 Assistant Undersecretary for Economic Affairs, responsible for:
 External Economic Relations Directorate
 Economic Studies and Research Directorate
 Government Investment Directorate
 Privatization and Outsourcing Directorate
 Assistant Undersecretary for Financial Affairs, responsible for:
 Budget Directorate
 Project Directorate
 Treasury Directorate
 Financial Systems Development Directorate
 Assistant Undersecretary for Resources and Information, responsible for:
 Human and Financial Resources Directorate
 Financial Information Directorate
 Government Properties Affairs Directorate

On 2 June 2008, Decree No. (43) of 2008  was issued amending Decree No. (69) of 2004 on the reorganization of the Ministry of Interior, in accordance with which Customs Affairs was transferred from the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Interior.

On 30 June 2008, Decree No. (53) of 2008  was issued, whereby the position of Undersecretary for Ports Affairs was established in the Ministry of Finance, then Decree No. (70) of 2012 was subsequently issued on 21 October 2008 according to which the Undersecretary for Ports Affairs is to report to the Ministry of Transport and Communication.

On 28 May 2009, Decree No. (51) of 2009  was issued amending Decree No. (9) of 2007 on the reorganization of the Ministry of Finance, whereby the position of Assistant Undersecretary for Public Revenue Development was established, and two new Directorates were established in the Ministry of Finance to report to the Assistant Undersecretary for the Public Revenue Development, namely:
 Enterprise Tax Directorate
 Value Added Tax Directorate

On 30 June 2010, Decree No. (28) of 2010  was issued amending Decree No. (9) of 2007 on the reorganization of the Ministry of Finance, including the establishment of the State Property Affairs Directorate, answerable to the Assistant Undersecretary for Resources and Information.

On 4 April 2017, Decree No. (24) of 2017  was issued amending some of the provisions of Decree No. (9) of 2007 on the reorganization of the Ministry of Finance, including the establishment of Public Revenue Policies Directorate, reporting to the Assistant Undersecretary for the of Public Revenue Development, and the abolition of the Economic Studies and Research Directorate.

On 4 December 2018 Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa was appointed Minister and the name of the Ministry was changed to Ministry of Finance and National Economy.

About Ministry of Finance & National Economy

Vision
To achieve optimal financial stability in order to make the Kingdom of Bahrain the center of excellence in the region for financial planning, management, and control, and to contribute in sustainable economic growth through developing and following up the implementation of sound financial policies.

Strategy
The Ministry of Finance & National Economy (MOFNe) is committed to providing its users with services to the highest possible level of quality and satisfaction. In order to achieve this, we actively seek input and feedback from our customers to contribute to the continual improvement of these services.

The responsibility for ensuring this is shared by all levels of MOFNE employees, who strive to perform all tasks in a quality assured manner, following the principle of right the first time, every time MOF aims to be a model of excellence in the Government sector, with emphasis on achieving the highest levels of quality, efficiency, and effectiveness via the following methodologies:-
 Adopting a Quality Management System that meets relevant ISO 9001:2000 standards.
 Adhering the following 8 quality management principles:-
  A-Customer focus
  B-Leadership
   C-Involvement of people
   D-Process approach
   E-System approach to management
   F-Continual improvement via process re-engineering  initiatives
   G-Factual approach to decision making
   H-Mutually beneficial supplier relationships
 Continuous training of MOFNE employees.
 Setting challenging improvement objectives annually.
 Utilizing the competence of all MOFNE employees to meet individual and organizational responsibilities.
 Creating and maintaining, on behalf of the Bahrain government, the environment for efficient and effective financial resource management by developing, maintaining and enacting appropriate rules, regulations, procedures and systems.

In order to maintain this high standard of performance, the Minister of MOFNE has created the quality assurance section with a Head entrusted with the responsibility for developing such systems and empowered to take the necessary actions to ensure compliance with these systems.

List of Ministers 
 Mr. Mahmoud Al-Sayed Ahmed Al-Alawi (August 1975 – June 1976)
 Mr. Ibrahim Abdul-Karim Mohamed (June 1976 – May 1999)
 Mr. Abdullah Hassan Saif (May 1999 – January 2005)
 H.E. Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohamed Al Khalifa (January 2005 - November 2018)
 H.E. Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa (4 December 2018 – present)