2021 in North Africa explained

The following lists events that happened during 2021 in North Africa.

Countries and territories

Algeria

See main article: 2021 in Algeria.

• Chief of state and head of government: President: Abdelmadjid Tebboune (since 2019)^[1]

Egypt

See main article: 2021 in Egypt.

• Chief of state: President of Egypt: Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (since 2014)^[2]
• Head of government: Prime Minister of Egypt: Moustafa Madbouly (since 2018)^[2]

Libya

See main article: 2021 in Libya.

• Chief of state: Chairman of the Presidential Council and Prime Minister
  • Fayez al-Sarraj (until February 5)^[3]
  • Abdullah al-Thani (until 5 February)
  • Abdul Hamid Dbeibah (interim, starting 5 February)
  • Abdul Hamid Dbeibah (interim, starting 5 February)

Morocco

See main article: 2021 in Morocco.

• Chief of state: Mohammed VI of Morocco (since 1999)^[4]
• Head of government: President of the Government: Saadeddine Othmani (since 2017)^[4]

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a self-proclaimed state recognized by about 80 countries and the African Union.^{[5] [6]}

• President

Brahim Ghali (since 2016)^[7]

• Prime Minister: Mohamed Wali Akeik (since 2018)

Morocco claims and controls 80% of Western Sahara.^[6]

Spain

See main article: 2021 in Spain.

• Monarch

Felipe VI (since 2014)

• Prime Minister

Pedro Sánchez (since 2018)

Canary Islands

See main article: 2021 in the Canary Islands. The Canary Islands is an Autonomous community of Spain.^[8]

• President of the Canary Islands

Ángel Víctor Torres

Cueta and Melilla

The Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla and the islands of Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera and the Plazas de soberanía are disputed by Morocco.

• Mayor-President of Ceuta

Juan Jesús Vivas

• Mayor-President of Melilla

Eduardo de Castro

Sudan

See main article: 2021 in Sudan.

• Chairman of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (since 2019)^[9]

• Prime Minister: Abdalla Hamdok (since 2019)

Tunisia

See main article: 2021 in Tunisia.

• Chief of state: President: Kais Saied (since 2019)^[10]
• Head of government:
• Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi (since 2020)
• President of the Assembly of the Representatives by the People: Rached Ghannouchi (since 2019)

Monthly events

January and February

• January 1 – The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) officially begins.^[11]
• January 3
  • Sudan, Egypt, and Ethiopia agree to hold further talks this month to resolve their dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile.^[12]
  • Two hundred sixty-five migrants, mostly from Eritrea, are rescued in the Mediterranean Sea.^[13]
• January 5 – Four migrants die in a boat headed for Tenerife, Canary Islands. 23,000 migrants arrived in the Canary Islands in 2020, and some 500 died.^[14]
• January 19 – Eighty-seven migrants scale the Melilla border fence; nine are taken to hospital.^[15]
• January 20 – 2021 Tunisian protests enter their fifth day.^[16]
• February 5
  • Abdul Hamid Dbeibah is chosen as transitional unity prime minister of Libya.^[17]
  • Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi says he supports the transitional government of Libya.^[18]
• February 7 – DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi, new chair of the African Union, says he intends to make settlement of the dispute over Ethiopia's Renaissance Dam a priority.^[19]
• February 10 – The government of Sudan swears in a new Cabinet including Gibril Ibrahim as finance minister and ministers from the Sudan Revolutionary Front.^{[20] [21]}
• February 18 – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah meet in Cairo.^[22]
• February 24 – Egypt endorses Sudan's proposal to internationalize the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam controversy, calling for the participation of the African Union, the United Nations, the European Union, and the United States.^[23]

March and April

• March 6 – Egyptian president El-Sissi meets with Sudanese general Al-Burhan in Khartoum.^[24]
• March 26 – A stranded container vessel in the Suez Canal is holding up an estimated US$400 million an hour in trade, according to shipping data from Lloyd's List.^[25] It may take weeks to dislodge the 224,000-ton Ever Green.^[26]
• March 28
  • 2021 Suez Canal obstruction
    • Egyptian Prime Minister Abdel Fatah al-Sissi orders officials of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) to begin preparations for the removal of containers. Efforts continue to refloat the ship during high tide with the aid of dredgers and an excavator on land.^[27]
    • The Ever Given is liberated and moved to the Great Bitter Lake for inspection.^[28]

Scheduled and programmed events

Elections

See also: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on politics.

• June 23 – 2021 Moroccan general election

Holidays

Sports

• July – Morocco is scheduled to host the 2021 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.^[29]
• 2021 UCI Africa Tour

Deaths

• March 31 – Kamal Ganzouri, 88, Egyptian politician, Prime Minister of Egypt (1996–1999, 2011–2012).^[30]

See also

• COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
• African Union
• Arab League
• 2021 in East Africa
• 2021 in Middle Africa
• 2021 in Southern Africa
• 2021 in West Africa
• Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
• Organisation internationale de la Francophonie

External links

• How will the Suez Canal blockage disrupt global trade? (Al Jazeera English, presented by Mohammed Jamjoom, March 2021)

Notes and References

1. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/algeria/ CIA Factbook: Algeria
2. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/egypt/ CIA Factbook: Egypt
3. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/libya/ CIA Factbook: Libya
4. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/morocco/ CIA Factbook: Morocco
5. Web site: Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Recognition, Population, & History . Encyclopedia Britannica . January 3, 2021 . en.
6. News: What is Western Sahara and why does Morocco claim sovereignty over it? . January 22, 2021 . Middle East Eye . December 10, 2020 . en.
7. Web site: BBC News. Western Sahara Profile. May 14, 2018. March 30, 2020.
8. Web site: Canary Islands Geography, Facts, & History . Encyclopedia Britannica . January 3, 2021 . en.
9. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/sudan/ CIA Factbook: Sudan
10. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/tunisia/ CIA Factbook: Tunisia
11. News: After months of COVID delays, African free trade bloc launches . January 3, 2021 . aljazeera.com . Al Jazeera English . January 1, 2021 . en.
12. News: Nile dam dispute: Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia agree to hold more talks . January 3, 2021 . aljazeera.com . Al Jazeera English . en.
13. News: Spanish-flagged boat rescues 265 migrants in Mediterranean . January 3, 2021 . news.yahoo.com . AP . Yahoo News.
14. News: GILES . CIARÁN . 4 die as migrant boat reaches Spain's Canary Islands . January 5, 2021 . news.yahoo.com . AP . Yahoo News . January 5, 2021.
15. News: Migrants scale border fences to enter Spanish enclave . January 20, 2021 . ABC News . AP . January 19, 2021 . en.
16. News: Outreach by Tunisian leaders fails to quell youth unrest . January 20, 2021 . AP NEWS . 20 January 2021.
17. News: Surprise as Dbeibah elected Libyan transitional PM . February 6, 2021 . Times of Malta . February 5, 2021 . en-gb.
18. News: Egypt's president says he supports interim Libya government . February 13, 2021 . AP NEWS . 7 February 2021.
19. News: New AU chair Tshisekedi seeks end to Ethiopia dam dispute . February 8, 2021 . news.yahoo.com . AFP . February 7, 2021.
20. News: Sudan's prime minister names new cabinet . February 8, 2021 . aljazeera.com . Al Jazeera English . February 8, 2021 . en.
21. News: Sudan's new Cabinet sworn in amid protests over dire economy . February 13, 2021 . AP NEWS . 10 February 2021.
22. News: ELHENNAWY . NOHA . Libya's new interim leader meets with Egyptian president . February 19, 2021 . news.yahoo.com . AP . February 18, 2021.
23. News: MAGDY . SAMY . Egypt backs call to internationalize Ethiopia dam dispute . February 24, 2021 . news.yahoo.com . AP . February 24, 2021.
24. News: Egypt's president el-Sissi visits Sudan amid rapprochement . March 6, 2021 . news.yahoo.com . AP . March 6, 2021.
25. News: Suez Canal blockage is delaying an estimated $400 million an hour in goods . March 26, 2021 . NBC News . March 26, 2021 . en.
26. News: Salem . Mostafa . Samaan . Magdy . Boykoff . Pamela . Krever . Mick . Dislodging the huge ship blocking the Suez Canal could take 'days to weeks,' as the traffic jam builds . March 26, 2021 . CNN . Reuters . March 26, 2021.
27. News: Bowden . John . Egyptian leader gives last-resort order to dislodge ship from Suez Canal . March 28, 2021 . TheHill . 28 March 2021 . en.
28. News: DEBRE . ISABEL . MAGDY . SAMY . Giant container ship that blocked Suez Canal set free . March 29, 2021 . news.yahoo.com . AP . March 28, 2021.
29. News: Decisions of CAF Executive Meeting – 30 June 2020 . January 17, 2021 . CAFOnline.com . CAF News . June 30, 2020 . en.
30. https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/100361/Former-Egyptian-PM-Kamal-al-Ganzouri-dies-aged-88 Former Egyptian PM Kamal al-Ganzouri dies aged 88