The following is a chronological summary of the major events that occurred during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, after Hosni Mubarak's resignation. Protests and riots led to the deaths of hundreds, injuries of thousands and the arrests of tens of thousands. Millions have mobilised the streets since the revolution.
2011
February
12–15 February
A group of activists issued the "People's Communiqué No 1", which imitated the titles of communiqués from the Army. It demanded the dissolution of the cabinet Mubarak appointed on 29 January, the suspension of the parliament elected in late 2010 in a poll that was widely suspected of being rigged, the creation of a transitional presidential council made up of four civilians and one member of the military, the formation of a transitional government to prepare for an election to take place within nine months and a body to draft a new democratic constitution, freedom for the media and syndicates and for the formation of political parties, and the scrapping of military and emergency courts. They also announced the formation of a council to organize mass protests.Egypt protest leaders vow to protect revolution . Reuters. 12 February 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2011Egypt: Protesters Communique No 1 Demands to The Army . Andy Roberts DARnet. 12 February 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2011. Curfew was reduced to between midnight and 6:00 Eastern European Time. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces issued "Communiqué no. 4" in which they "promised to hand power to an elected, civilian government ... [and] also pledged that Egypt would remain committed to all international treaties." Minister of Information, Anas El-Fekky, had been placed under house arrest, and later resigned from his position.
Egypt's stock market regulator said the trading, which was due to start on 13 February, was delayed until 16 February.
Thousands of people also began to clean up Cairo's Tahrir Square, which had been disfigured by 18 days of rallies and sporadic street battles.
The army stated that the constitution was suspended and parliament was dissolved and that it would stay in power until the presidential and parliamentary elections could be held. The High Council of Egyptian Armed Forces had selected its chief to represent the council. The caretaker cabinet appointed by Mubarak would remain until a new cabinet was formed after the elections.
Police in the city of Bani Suef were protesting for better pay and more rights by lying down on a bridge. Hundreds of police also marched in Tahrir Square to show solidarity with the protesters. Waving Egyptian flags, the police demonstrators shouted, "We and the people are one", and said they wanted to "honor the martyrs of the revolution".
Jean-Claude Juncker, the chairman of the Eurogroup, said he would support a freeze on the assets of Hosni Mubarak.
After an inventory was completed, it was determined that a total of 18 artifacts from the Egyptian Museum were missing. About 70 objects were damaged.
It was reported that the secretary-general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, was to stand down and run in the upcoming elections.
Eight representatives from the demonstrators, including Wael Ghonim and Amr Salama, met with spokespersons of the military and reported that there would be a referendum on changes to the constitution within two months.
Military rulers called for an end to the strikes and protests. Thousands of state employees, including police, transit workers, and ambulance drivers, protested for better pay. In a statement, the ruling military council issued a final warning to the labor unions stating that the armed forces could intervene. They also imposed an outright ban on gatherings and strikes. In addition, the army cleared out most of the remaining demonstrators from Tahrir Square.
Tarek El-Bishry, a retired judge known for his pro-opposition views and his support for a strong independent judiciary, was tasked with setting up the committee to reform the constitution. The changes would be formally announced within ten days. Adly Fayed, the director of public security at the interior ministry, and Ismail El Shaer, Cairo's security chief, have been fired over their decision to open fire on the demonstrators.
Hillary Clinton has told Al Jazeera that the US is hopeful that Egypt will become a model for democracy in the region.
Amr Moussa announced on 15 February that he would run in the presidential election. The Muslim Brotherhood announced on the same day that it would form the Freedom and Justice Party to run in the parliamentary elections.
16–28 February
On 17 February, the army stated that it would not field a candidate in the upcoming presidential elections. Four important figures of the former regime were detained on that day: former interior minister Habib el-Adly, former minister of housing Ahmed Maghrabi, former tourism minister Zuheir Garana, and steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz.
On 18 February, Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi arrived in Egypt after his exile in Qatar and led the "Victory Day" Friday sermon in Tahrir Square, which was attended by hundreds of thousands of people. Men, who appeared to be Qaradawi's guards, barred Wael Ghonim from joining him on stage. On that same day, Wael Ghonim wrote the following on his Twitter: "I loved Sheikh Qaradawi Khutbah today. Was truly inspired when he said: 'Today I'm going to address both Muslims and Christians. Respect!'"
On 20 February, the constitutional reform committee stated that its work was almost done, and also announced that the caretaker government would soon be reshuffled. On 21 February, David Cameron, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, became the first world leader to visit Egypt since Mubarak was ousted as the president. A news blackout was lifted as the prime minister landed in Cairo for a brief five-hour stopover, which had been hastily added to the start of a planned tour of the Middle East.
A government reshuffle took place on 22 February, but the defense, interior, foreign, finance, and justice ministries remained unchanged. New ministers included Yehia el-Gamal as deputy prime minister, the New Wafd Party's Monir Fakhri Abdel Nour as tourism minister, the Tagammu Party's Gowdat Abdel-Khaleq as minister of social solidarity and social justice, and Ismail Ibrahim Fahmy as the new labor minister. The changes were not well-received by the public, because most of Mubarak's former supporters remained in the cabinet, and there were renewed calls for a demonstration to demand the resignation of the interim government. Protesters were also set to return to Tahrir Square to keep up the pressure on the interim government.
March
Before any large protests against him were planned, Ahmed Shafik stepped down as Prime Minister and was replaced by Essam Sharaf. Sharaf returned to Tahrir Square, which he had also visited during the revolution, to address the Friday mass rally.
The foreign, justice, interior, and oil ministers resigned and three new ministers were named: General and former governor of Minya, Mansour El Essawi, became interior minister; Mohamed Abdel Aziz Al-Guindy became justice minister; and former judge Nabil Elaraby was appointed foreign minister. Secretary General of the New Wafd Party, Monir Fakhri Abdel Nour, remained tourism minister. State television aired footage of the ceremony showing the prime minister and his Cabinet taking the oath before Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, who heads the ruling military council.
On 5 March, three weeks after Hosni Mubarak was ousted as President, Egyptians turned their anger toward his internal security apparatus by storming the agency's main headquarters and other offices in order to seize documents that would provide evidence of human rights abuses as well as preventing said documents from being destroyed. Following rumors that officials were destroying evidence, 200 protesters stormed the secret police headquarters in Cairo. The closing of the agency has been a key demand of the protesters but one which had not been heeded. Human rights abuses, including torture, were alleged to have been carried out inside it. The protesters stated that they stormed the building to secure evidence as they feared that it might be destroyed. The SSIS was announced dissolved on 15 March 2011, with a new National Security Force replacing it.
A group of youths who participated in the protests announced the formation of the Party of Youths for Change on 6 March 2011.
Mohamed ElBaradei stated on 9 March 2011 that he would run in the presidential elections.
On 19 March, the constitutional referendum was held, with millions of Egyptians turning up to vote on nine proposed amendments to the constitution. Eager for their first free vote, Egyptians formed long lines outside polling centers to cast their ballots on constitutional amendments that were sponsored by the ruling military. In the lead up to the referendum, there was still dispute amongst the political movements and parties in Egypt about whether they should approve or reject the proposed constitutional amendments. 16 of those political parties and movements, including The Alliance of Women's Organizations, announced that they would reject the proposed amendments and call for the creation of a new constitution. The movements also renewed their calls for protests against the amendments to be held. Supporters of the amendments include the Muslim Brotherhood, the Wasat Party, and the Labor Party. The proposed amendments were limited to nine articles, which some deemed to be insufficient as they failed to limit the power of the president, whilst others argued that the amendments were only a temporary measure and as such did not need to include all the changes that were requested, as the Constitution was to be completely redrafted after the parliamentary and presidential elections. This point has proven to be the most contentious with those who oppose the amendments. They claim that a redrafted Constitution will not be representative with the Egyptian presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei calling on all Egyptians to reject the proposed constitutional amendments, saying that a "Yes" vote will "provide a parliament not representative of the people, composed mainly of members of the National Democratic Party and benefiting businessmen, the opportunity to uphold a Constitution which is also not representative of the people, and this will take us backwards to a great extent." ElBaradei was assaulted when he showed up at a school in Moqattam to vote.
The final results of the referendum were announced the next day: 77.2% of Egyptians voted "YES" to constitutional amendments, while 22.8% voted "NO". In total, 18,537,954 Egyptians voted out of around 45 million eligible voters, making the turnout 41%.
April
On 1 April, protesters called for a "Save the Revolution" day in which thousands of demonstrators filled Tahrir Square after Friday prayers demanded that the ruling military council move faster to dismantle lingering aspects of the old regime; it was the largest protest since Mubarak's resignation.
On 3 April, the Muslim Brotherhood called on its members to participate in the demonstrations in Tahrir Square on 8 April. Having withheld support for demonstrations held on 1 April because they coincided with Orphans' Day, the Brotherhood called for a large turnout to pressure the government to pursue cases against members of the old regime who remained in positions of influence after the revolution. The Brotherhood also suggested the name "Friday of Purging" for the event. The next day, employees of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Amonsito Textile Company demonstrated outside cabinet offices.
On 5 April, Egyptian authorities arrested Omneya Soliman, the former housing minister.