Mohammed Jalal

Mohammed Yousif Jalal (, Muharraq, 1920 - , Adliya) was a Bahraini businessman and politician.
Early life and education
Jalal was born in Muharraq in 1920 to an aristocratic family from the Najd region of Saudi Arabia.
He was educated at the Al-Hidaya Al-Khalifia Boys School locally and continued his studies in India.
Commercial career
Jalal went into the private sector in 1947, founding the conglomerate now known as Mohammed Jalal & Sons (MJS). Jalal headed the family business and his sons formed a council to run it day-to-day. The company operates in the construction, petrochemical, engineering, retail, information technology, food and beverage, tourism, elevator and escalator manufacturing, water purification, security, facility management, and real estate sectors. A number of subsidiaries operate internationally throughout the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar. MJS is a local dealer for such international brands as Schindler Group (elevators), General Electric, Suzuki, British American Tobacco, and Putzmeister (concrete pumps).

He was one of the main merchants to push Salman, Crown Prince of Bahrain to establish the Bahrain Bank in 1957, the country's first national bank now known as the National Bank of Bahrain. In the early 1960s, he got the first royal approval to open a branch of a bank from the broader Arab world in Bahrain. Among the companies and banks he helped establish are Ahli United Bank, Investcorp, the Import and Export Company, Bahrain Airport Services, and the Bahrain Tourism Company, some of which he headed on certain occasions. He also was notable for chairing the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry from April 22, 1974 to April 21, 1985. He co-founded the Charitable Society and the Bahrain Red Crescent Society.
Political career
Jalal was among the 128 charter members of the National Union Committee, which advocated for independence in the 1950s.
He was appointed a member of the Education Council (now the Ministry of Education) in 1957. It was then headed by Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and included Atiyah Allah bin Abdul Rahhman Al Khalifa, Hamad Jassim Kanoo, Rashid Abdul Rahman Al Rayani, Sadiq Mohammed Al Baharna, Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and Abdullah bin Khamis Al-Shorouqi.
Sports career
Jalal was managing director at Al-Muharraq SC in the 1950s and 1960s.
Death
Jalal died on April 4, 2017, at the age of 97, at his home in the Adliya neighborhood in the Capital Governorate. He was buried the next day in Muharraq Cemetery.
Personal life
He married and had eight children: Jalal, Ahmed, Sami, Fouad, Lulwa, Fawzia, Safia, and Hana.

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