The following lists events that happened during

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

Countries and territories

Algeria

*Chief of state and head of government:

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Abdelmadjid Tebboune Abdelmadjid Tebboune ( ar, عبد المجيد تبون, ʿAbd al-Majīd Tabbūn; born 17 November 1945) is an Algerian politician currently serving as the President of Algeria since December 2019 and as Minister of Defence. He took over the po ...

(since 2019)CIA Factbook: Algeria
CIA 2020, Retrieved 30 March 2020

Egypt

*Chief of state: President of Egypt:

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi; (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has served as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. Before retiring as a general in the Egyptian mil ...

(since 2014)CIA Factbook: Egypt
retrieved 30 March 2020 *Head of government: Prime Minister of Egypt:

Moustafa Madbouly Mostafa Kamal Madbouly ( ar, مصطفى كمال مدبولي; born 28 April 1966) is the Prime Minister of Egypt, serving since 2018. He was appointed by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to succeed Sherif Ismail following his government's resignat ...

(since 2018)

Libya

*Chief of state: Chairman of the Presidential Council and Prime Minister **

Fayez al-Sarraj Fayez Mustafa al-Sarraj ( ar, فائز السراج or ; born 20 February 1960) is a Libyan politician who served as the Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libya and Head of Government of the Government of National Accord from 2016 to 2021, ...

(until February 5)CIA Factbook: Libya
retrieved 30 March 2020 **

Abdullah al-Thani Abdullah al-Thani ( ar, عبد الله الثني Libyan pronunciation: ) is a Libyan politician who became prime minister of the House of Representatives of Libya on 11 March 2014, when he took over in an interim capacity after the dis ...

(until 5 February) ** Abdul Hamid Dbeibah (interim, starting 5 February) ** Abdul Hamid Dbeibah (interim, starting 5 February)

Morocco

*Chief of state:

Mohammed VI of Morocco Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد السادس; born 21 August 1963) is the King of Morocco. He belongs to the 'Alawi dynasty and acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II. Upon ascending to the throne, Moham ...

(since 1999)CIA Factbook: Morocco
retrieved 30 March 2020 * Head of government: President of the Government:

Saadeddine Othmani Saadeddine Othmani ( ber, ⵙⴰⵄⴷ ⴷⴷⵉⵏ ⵍⵄⵓⵜⵎⴰⵏⵉ; ar, سعد الدين العثماني; born 16 January 1956), sometimes translated as Saad Eddine el-Othmani, is a Moroccan politician. He served as the 16th prime mi ...

(since 2017)

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (; SADR; also romanized with Saharawi; ar, الجمهورية العربية الصحراوية الديمقراطية ' es, República Árabe Saharaui Democrática), also known as Western Sahara, is a p ...

is a self-proclaimed state recognized by about 80 countries and the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

. *

Brahim Ghali Brahim Ghali () ( ar, rtl=yes, إبراهيم غالي, Ibrāhīm Ġālī; es, Brahim Gali; born 16 September 1949) is a Sahrawi politician and military officer that serves as the current president of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) ...

(since 2016) *Prime Minister:

Mohamed Wali Akeik Mohamed Wali Akeik ( ar, محمد والي أكيك; born 1950) was the prime minister of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which holds a disputed claim over Western Sahara. Akeik was appointed on February 4, 2018 by President Brahim Ghali, suc ...

(since 2018) Morocco claims and controls 80% of

Western Sahara Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the r ...

Spain

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

Felipe VI Felipe VI (;, * eu, Felipe VI.a, * ca, Felip VI, * gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, and h ...

(since 2014) *

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Pedro Sánchez Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón (; born 29 February 1972) is a Spanish politician who has been Prime Minister of Spain since June 2018. He has also been Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since June 2017, having pr ...

(since 2018)

Canary Islands

The

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

is an

Autonomous community of Spain eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

. *

President of the Canary Islands The president of the Canary Islands is the head of government of the Canary Islands, one of the 17 autonomous communities of Spain, while the monarch Felipe VI remains the head of state as king of Spain (and therefore of the Canary Islands). Lis ...

Ángel Víctor Torres Ángel Víctor Torres Pérez (: born 30 March 1966) is a Spanish politician who serves as the president of the Canary Islands. He is the secretary-general of the Socialist Party of the Canaries (PSC–PSOE). Early life and education Born on 30 ...

Cueta and Melilla

The Spanish

enclaves An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...

and

Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...

and the islands of

Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (; ) is a Spanish exclave and rocky tied island, in the western Mediterranean Sea, connected to the Moroccan shore by a sandy isthmus. It is also connected to a smaller islet to the east, La Isleta, by a rocky isthmus. The tied island was name ...

and the

Plazas de soberanía The ''plazas de soberanía'' (, lit. "strongholds of sovereignty") is a term describing a series of Spanish overseas minor territories scattered along the Mediterranean coast bordering Morocco or that are closer to Africa than Europe. This term ...

are disputed by Morocco. *

Mayor-President of Ceuta The Mayor-President of the Autonomous City of Ceuta ( es, Alcalde-Presidente de la Ciudad Autónoma de Ceuta) or simply the President of Ceuta, is the highest political position of the Autonomous City of Ceuta. Due to the special status of the Span ...

Juan Jesús Vivas Juan Jesús Vivas Lara (born 27 February 1953) is a Spanish politician who is the current Mayor-President of the autonomous city of Ceuta, since 8 February 2001. He is a member of the People's Party (PP). Biography Born in Ceuta in 1953, Jua ...

Mayor-President of Melilla The Mayor-President of the Autonomous City of Melilla ( es, Presidente de la Ciudad Autónoma de Melilla) or simply the President of Melilla, is the highest authority of the Spain, Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous city of Melilla ...

Eduardo de Castro Eduardo de Castro González (born 3 March 1957) is a Spanish public servant and politician who currently serves as the Mayor-President of the autonomous city of Melilla. Since 2015 he has been a member of the Assembly of Melilla. Biography De ...

Sudan

* Chairman of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan:

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan ( ar, عبد الفتاح عبد الرحمن البرهان, Abd al-FattāḥʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Burhān; born 11 July 1960) is a Sudanese politician and Sudanese Army general who is the ''de facto'' head ...

(since 2019)CIA Factbook: Sudan
retrieved 30 March 2020 *Prime Minister:

Abdalla Hamdok Abdalla Hamdok Al-Kinani (also transliterated ''Abdallah'', ''Hamdouk'', '' AlKinani''; ar, عبدالله حمدوك الكناني; born 1 January 1956) is a Sudanese public administrator who served as the 15th Prime Minister of Sudan from 20 ...

(since 2019)

Tunisia

*Chief of state:

Kais Saied Kais Saied ( ar, قَيس سَعيد; born 22 February 1958) is a Tunisian politician, jurist, and retired law professor, and currently the 8th President of Tunisia since October 2019. He was president of the Tunisian Association of Constitutiona ...

(since 2019)CIA Factbook: Tunisia
retrieved 30 March 2020 *Head of government: *

Hichem Mechichi Hichem Mechichi ( ar, هشام المشيشي; born January 1974) is a Tunisian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Tunisia, from 2020 to 2021, when he was dismissed by President Kais Saied. He held the post of Minister of the Interio ...

(since 2020) * President of the Assembly of the Representatives by the People:

Rached Ghannouchi Rached Ghannouchi ( ar, راشد الغنوشي, Rāshid al-Ghannūshī; born 22 June 1941), also spelled Rachid al-Ghannouchi or Rached el-Ghannouchi, is a Tunisian politician, the co-founder of the Ennahdha Party and serving as its intellec ...

(since 2019)

Monthly events

January and February

*January 1 – The

African Continental Free Trade Area The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a free trade area encompassing most of Africa. It was established in 2018 by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, which has 43 parties and another 11 signatories, making it the larg ...

(AfCFTA) officially begins. *January 3 **Sudan, Egypt, and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

agree to hold further talks this month to resolve their dispute over the

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam , image = , image_caption = The main dam after first filling , image_alt = , location_map_caption = , coordinates = , country = Ethiopia , location = Guba, Benishangul-Gumuz Region , purpose = Power , status = UC , construction_began ...

on the

Blue Nile The Blue Nile (; ) is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the water ...

. **Two hundred sixty-five migrants, mostly from

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

, are rescued in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. *January 5 – Four migrants die in a boat headed for

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

, Canary Islands. 23,000 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands in 2020, and some 500 died. *January 19 – Eighty-seven migrants scale the

Melilla border fence The Melilla border fence forms part of the Morocco–Spain border in the city of Melilla, one of two Spanish cities in north Africa. Constructed by Spain, its stated purpose is to stop illegal immigration and smuggling. Melilla's border and i ...

; nine are taken to hospital. *January 20 –

2021 Tunisian protests The 2021 Tunisian protests are a series of protests that started on 15 January 2021. Thousand of people rioted in cities and towns across Tunisia, which saw looting and arson as well as mass deployment of police and army in several cities and th ...

enter their fifth day. *February 5 ** Abdul Hamid Dbeibah is chosen as transitional unity prime minister of Libya. **Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi says he supports the transitional government of Libya. *February 7 – DR Congo President

Felix Tshisekedi Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, S ...

, new chair of the

, says he intends to make settlement of the dispute over Ethiopia's Renaissance Dam a priority. *February 10 – The government of Sudan swears in a new Cabinet including

Gibril Ibrahim Dr. Gibril Ibrahim Mohammed ( ar, جبريل إبراهيم محمد) is a Sudanese politician. He is the leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). He was chosen to replace his brother, Khalil, on 26 January 2012, after Khalil's death i ...

as finance minister and ministers from the

Sudan Revolutionary Front The Sudan Revolutionary Front ( ar, الجبهة الثورية السودانية, translit=Al-Jabhat Al-Thawriyat Al-Sudan), or the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), is an alliance between Sudanese factions that was created in opposition to th ...

. *February 18 – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah meet in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

. *February 24 – Egypt endorses Sudan′s proposal to internationalize the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam controversy, calling for the participation of the

, the United Nations, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, and the United States.

March and April

*March 6 – Egyptian president El-Sissi meets with Sudanese general Al-Burhan in

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing n ...

. *March 26 – A stranded container vessel in the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

is holding up an estimated USD $400 million an hour in trade, according to shipping data from '' Lloyd’s List''. It may take weeks to dislodge the 224,000-ton ''Ever Green''. *March 28 **

2021 Suez Canal obstruction In March 2021, the Suez Canal was blocked for six days after the grounding of , a container ship. The vessel was buffeted by strong winds on the morning of 23 March, and ended up wedged across the waterway with its bow and stern stuck in the ...

***Egyptian Prime Minister Abdel Fatah al-Sissi orders officials of the

Suez Canal Authority Suez Canal Authority (SCA) is an Egyptian state-owned authority which owns, operates and maintains the Suez Canal. It was set up by the Egyptian government to replace the Suez Canal Company in the 1950s which resulted in the Suez Crisis. After th ...

(SCA) to begin preparations for the removal of containers. Efforts continue to refloat the ship during

high tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables can ...

with the aid of

dredgers Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...

and an excavator on land. ***The ''Ever Given'' is liberated and moved to the

Great Bitter Lake The Great Bitter Lake ( ar, البحيرة المرة الكبرى; Arabic transliteration, transliterated: ''al-Buḥayrah al-Murra al-Kubrā'') is a large saltwater lake in Egypt that is part of the Suez Canal. Before the canal was built in ...

for inspection.

Scheduled and programmed events

Elections

*June 23 –

2021 Moroccan general election General elections were held in Morocco on 8 September 2021 to elect 395 members of the House of Representatives. The National Rally of Independents led by Aziz Akhannouch won the most seats (102), a gain of 65 seats from the prior election. The ...

Holidays

Culture

Sports

*July – Morocco is scheduled to host the

2021 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations The 2021 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, known for sponsorship purposes as the 2021 Total U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, was planned to be the 14th edition (19th if editions of the tournament without hosts are included) of the biennial African interna ...

. *

2021 UCI Africa Tour The 2021 UCI Africa Tour was the 17th season of the UCI Africa Tour. The season began on 21 February 2021 with the Tour du Rwanda and ended on 10 October 2021 with the final stage of the Grand Prix Chantal Biya. The points leader, based on the cum ...

Deaths

*March 31 –

Kamal Ganzouri Kamal Ganzouri ( ar, كمال الجنزورى, ‎; 12 January 1933 – 31 March 2021) was an Egyptian economist who served as the Prime Minister of Egypt from 7 December 2011 to 24 July 2012. He previously served as prime minister from 1996 ...

, 88, Egyptian politician,

Prime Minister of Egypt The prime minister of Egypt () is the head of the Egyptian government. A direct translation of the Arabic-language title is "Minister-President of Egypt" and "President of the Government". The Arabic title can also be translated as "President of ...

(1996–1999, 2011–2012).Former Egyptian PM Kamal al-Ganzouri dies aged 88
/ref>

References

External links

How will the Suez Canal blockage disrupt global trade? (Al Jazeera English, presented by Mohammed Jamjoom, March 2021)
{{Year in Africa , 2021 2021 in Africa Events in North Africa 2021 in African sport