Egyptian President Mubarak Resigns

Updated from 12:31 p.m. EST

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has resigned after nearly three weeks of riots and anti-government protests rocked the nation.

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Vice President Omar Suleiman appeared in a televised address to the nation to announce that after 30 years in power, Mubarak has stepped down.

"President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from the office of president of the republic and has charged the high council of the armed forces to administer the affairs of the country," Suleiman said in his address.

Mubarak appointed the Higher Military Council head of the nation's affairs before stepping down.

U.S. President Barack Obama says that the U.S. will continue to be a friend and an allied partner to Egypt, and it is ready to provide assistance for Egypt's transition to a democracy.

"The people of Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard, and Egypt will never be the same," Obama said.

He also said that now the Egyptian military has a responsibility to the people of their nation to ensure a peaceful transition of power, and that Mubarak's resignation is only the beginning of Egypt's transformation.

"By stepping down, President Mubarak responded to the Egyptian people's hunger for change," Obama said. "But this is not the end of the Egypt's transition. It is a beginning. I am sure there will be difficult days ahead and many questions remain unanswered. But I am confident that the people of Egypt can find the answers and do so peacefully, constructively, and in the spirit of unity that have defined these past few weeks."

He called on the military to lift the state of emergency in the nation and begin preparing the upcoming free and fair elections.

Prior to the announcement of Mubarak's departure, the military council pledged to carry out the demands of the people by overseeing constitutional reforms, but did not say it would move toward democracy. The army didn't make it clear whether Suleiman would hold any power under the council.

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