These are some of the notable events relating to politics in 2001.
Events
January
January 1 – Greece becomes the 12th country to join the Eurozone. January 20 George W. Bush is sworn in as the 43rd President of the United States. Impeachment proceedings against Philippine President Joseph Estrada, accused of playing Jueteng, end preeminently and trigger the second EDSA People Power Revolution (or People Power II). Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo succeeds him as the 14th president of the Philippines. January 21 – Taba Summit: Talks between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority begin in Egypt. January 22 – The 2001 insurgency in Macedonia begins when a police station is shelled by the National Liberation Army in Tearce, near the border with Kosovo. January 29 – Corruption scandals surrounding Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid prompt thousands of protesters to storm the Indonesian parliament building.
February
February 6 – 2001 Israeli prime ministerial election: Ariel Sharon of the Likud party is elected Prime Minister of Israel. February 16 – Iraq disarmament crisis: British and U.S. forces carry out bombing raids, attempting to disable Iraq's air defense network. February 18 – FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested and charged with spying for Russia for 25 years.
March
March 28 – The United States declares its intention to end involvement in the Kyoto Protocol.
April
April 1
Hainan Island incident: A Chinese fighter jet bumps into a U.S. EP-3E surveillance aircraft, which is forced to make an emergency landing in Hainan, China. The U.S. crew is detained for 10 days and the F-8 Chinese pilot, Wang Wei, goes missing and is presumed dead. The Act on the Opening up of Marriage goes into effect in the Netherlands, which becomes the first modern country to legalize same-sex marriage. April 2 – Former President of Serbia and Montenegro Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special forces to be tried on charges of crimes against humanity. April 17 Nông Đức Mạnh is chosen as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Israel occupies an area in the Gaza Strip, killing two people. Israeli forces withdraw the same day after the United States denounces the attack. April 26 Junichiro Koizumi becomes the 86th Prime Minister of Japan. The Parliament of Ukraine votes to dismiss Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko.
May
May 13 – Silvio Berlusconi wins the general election and becomes Prime Minister of Italy for the second time. May 22 – The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is adopted by 127 countries to limit pollution internationally. May 26 – The African Union is formed to replace the Organisation of African Unity. It will begin operation the following year. May 28 – 2001 Central African Republic coup d'état attempt: Central African forces led by André Kolingba carry out a failed attempt to overthrow the government of the Central African Republic. Dozens are killed in the ensuing violence.
June
June 1 – Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal kills his father, the king, his mother and other members of the royal family with an assault rifle and then shoots himself in the Nepalese royal massacre. Dipendra is recognized as King of Nepal while in a coma. June 4 – Gyanendra ascends the throne of Nepal on the death of his nephew, Dipendra. June 6 – U.S. Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont leaves Republican party to caucus as an independent with Democrats, handing majority control of the Senate to the Democratic Party and Majority Leader Tom Daschle. June 7 – George W. Bush signs the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, the first tax cut of a series now known as the Bush tax cuts. 2001 United Kingdom general election: Tony Blair and the Labour Party win a second landslide victory. Former Argentinian president Carlos Menem is arrested on suspicion of illegal arms sales. June 15 – Declaration to establish the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is signed.