National day of mourning
A national day of mourning is a day or days marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the death or funeral of a renowned individual or individuals from that country or elsewhere or the anniversary of such a death or deaths, the anniversaries of a significant natural or man-made disaster occurring either in the country or another country, wartime commemorations, or in memory of the victims of a terrorist attack. Flying a national or military flag of that country at half-staff is a common symbol.
International and national days of mourning
International and national days of mourning include:- European Day of Mourning, a day marked by mourning and memorial activities in member states of the European Union
- Circassian Day of Mourning, held May 21st, commemorating Circassian defeat in the Russian-Circassian War
- Day of Mourning, annual protest of Australian Aborigines held on Australia Day, 26 January
- National Day of Mourning, an American Indian protest held on the fourth Thursday of November
- National Day of Mourning, held 28 April, a commemoration of workers killed or injured on the job
- Nakba Day, Annual commemoration of the 1948 Palestinian exodus on 15 May by Palestinians worldwide.
Selected list of figures recognized
State officials
- Mohamed Brahmi, Tunisian opposition figure and member of the Tunisian Constituent Assembly was assassinated in front of his house.
- The Father of the State of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed by a group of Bangladesh Army personnel. The officers killed his whole family except his daughters Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana.
- Victims of the 2005 assassination of Former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri
- A National Day of Mourning is typically declared for Presidents of the United States, usually on the day of their funerals. Beginning with John F. Kennedy, these days are also considered federal holidays. There was no official day of mourning for Herbert Hoover.
- In the Soviet Union, an official mourning period of several days was declared for the deaths of leaders or former leaders, with Alexei Rykov, Nikita Khrushchev and Georgy Malenkov being notable exceptions after Rykov was executed during the Great Purge and the other two were relegated to obscurity. Khrushchev's death was announced only hours before he was buried without full state honors, while Malenkov's death was announced more than 2 weeks after his death. This custom changed in 1968 when a national day of mourning was declared for Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human to journey into outer space. In the final years of the Soviet Union, official mourning was declared for 2 disasters: the 1988 Armenian earthquake and the Ufa train disaster.
- Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk – First President of Czechoslovakia. National mourning since his death on 14–21 September 1937.
- Mustafa Kemal Atatürk – founder of the Republic of Turkey. 10 November is the national mourning day in Turkey, commemorating Atatürk's death on 10 November 1938. Every year at 09:05 on November 10, sirens are heard across Turkey followed by a minute of tribute as well as cessation of most all activity for that duration.
- Charles de Gaulle – Former President of France died on 9 November 1970. Declared national mourning the state funeral on 12 November.
- After the assassination of the Swedish Social Democratic Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1986–Sweden, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Vietnam.
- Iran's 1979 Revolution's leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Following his death on 3 June 1989, three days of mourning was declared by President Ali Khamenei.
- Leaders Zhou Enlai, Mao Zedong, and Deng Xiaoping–People's Republic Of China
- Yitzhak Rabin, the Prime Minister of Israel who was assassinated on 4 November 1995; a national day of mourning is commemorated in Israel and in various Jewish communities worldwide.
- Emperor Hirohito of Japan, who died in January 1989; national mourning was declared for two days and the day of his funeral.
- Former President of France François Mitterrand died on 8 January 1996. National mourning declared of state funeral on 11 January.
- Indonesian former President Suharto. Following his death in January 2008, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared seven days of national mourning and instructed all government officials, embassies overseas, and all Indonesian citizens to fly the Indonesia flag at half-staff in Soeharto's honor from 27 January to 2 February 2008.
- Fascist leader of Spain from 1939 to 1975 Francisco Franco. Twenty days of national mourning were declared following his demise on 20 November 1975.
- Alexander Dubček's death in 1992, at the time he was the chairman of the Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia
- Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino. Following her death on 1 August 2009, then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared ten days of national mourning.
- Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua death
- Argentinean President Néstor Kirchner
- Presidents of Mexico, usually on the day of their funerals Miguel de la Madrid in 2012 was the most recent.
- Dom Mintoff – former prime minister of Republic of Malta died in his home in Tarxien on 20 August 2012. Days of Mourning: Friday 24 August 2012 and Saturday 25 August 2012.
- Meles Zenawi – the Prime Minister of Ethiopia died in a hospital in Brussels on 20 August 2012. 13 days of state mourning was declared.
- Philippine Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo who with 2 others was killed in a plane crash on 18 August 2012. 21 to 26 August were declared days of national mourning in the Philippines.
- Võ Nguyên Giáp – Vietnamese General. Died in military hospital at age 102 on 4 October 2013. 12 and 13 October were declared national mourning days in Vietnam.
- Former President of South Africa and Anti-Apartheid campaigner Nelson Mandela, who died on 5 December 2013. Official days of national mourning in South Africa from 8 December to 15 December 2013, Algeria eight-day period of mourning, Kenya declared three days of national mourning, Tanzania declared three days of national mourning,
- Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, in Singapore, died on 23 March 2015. Official days of national mourning in Singapore was from 23 to 29 March 2015.
- King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia died on 23 January 2015. Three days of mourning were held at Riyadh.
- Former President APJ Abdul Kalam, in India, died on 27 July 2015. Official days of national mourning in India was from 27 July to 2 August 2015.
- President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov, died on 2 September 2016. Official days of national mourning in Uzbekistan from 3 to 6 September 2016.
- Former President of Italy Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, died on 16 September 2016. Official day of national mourning in Italy on 19 September 2016.
- Former Israeli President Shimon Peres, died on 27 September 2016. The mourning period was initially 30 days, as per Jewish custom called shloshim, but was extended by Peres' family due to popular demand from mourners.
- Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej died on 13 October 2016. His funeral took place within a one-year period of mourning.
- Former Cuban President Fidel Castro died on 25 November 2016. Official days of national mourning in Cuba were from 26 November to 4 December. Algeria declared eight days of mourning; Bolivia decreed seven days of national mourning; Equatorial Guinea decreed three days of national mourning; Nicaragua decreed nine days of national mourning; North Korea declared a period of mourning for three days; and Venezuela decreed three days of national mourning., Namibia declared a period of mourning for three days Uruguay, Vietnam, Angola decreed one day of national mourning; Trinidad and Tobago decreed that the national flag be flown at half-mast for one day; while Haiti decreed three days of mourning; and Dominica declared national mourning for Castro.
- Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa died on 5 December 2016. National day of mourning on 6 December 2016 by the Government of India. A seven-day mourning period from 6–12 December 2016 was observed by Government of Tamil Nadu, also three day state mourning period from 6–8 December 2016 was observed by Government of Kerala, and Government of Puducherry. One day of mourning on 6 December 2016 was observed by Government of Karnataka, Government of Punjab, Government of Uttarakhand, and Government of Bihar.
- President of Burundi Pierre Nkurunziza, died unexpectedly on 8 June 2020, aged 55, at the Fiftieth Anniversary Hospital in Karuzi. The Burundian government gave his cause of death as a heart attack, but some in the media suspect he died of COVID-19. A week earlier, The Standard reported his wife had flown without him to Nairobi, Kenya, for COVID-19 treatment. Seven National day of mourning were announced following his death.
Religious figures
- Iglesia ni Cristo Executive Minister Eraño Manalo,,
- Sister Lúcia,
- Mother Teresa of Calcutta,
- Serbian Patriarch Pavle
- Pope John Paul II,, Italy, Ireland, Seychelles, Malawi, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Portugal, Brazil, Poland
- Venerable Master Yin Shun
Sporting figures
- Abebe Bikila
- Eusébio
- Ferenc Puskás
- Ayrton Senna
Cultural figures
- Israel Kamakawiwoʻole
- Amália Rodrigues
- Toše Proeski
- Chinghiz Aitmatov
- Charles Aznavour
- Mihai Volontir
- Karel Gott
Tragedies
- Victims of Hurricane Hazel
- Victims of the Great Chilean earthquake of 1960.
- Victims of the 1990 20 January Black January Massacre by Soviet Union's Red army
- Victims of the 1996 Kamianske tram accident
- Victims of the Columbine High School massacre
- Victims of the 1999 Jiji earthquake
- Victims of the 2000 Kaprun disaster
- Victims of September 11, 2001 attacks
- Victims of the 2003 Nasiriyah bombing
- Victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
- Victims of the 2004 terrorist train bombing in Madrid, Spain
- Victims of 2006 Slovak Air Force Antonov An-24 crash
- Victims of the crash of TAM Airlines Flight 3054
- Victims of the 2007 Greek forest fires
- Victims of the 2007 Slovenia floods
- Toše Proeski's death in a car accident on 17 October 2007
- Victims of the 2008 Cameroonian anti-government protests, called for on 21 April 2008
- Victims of Cyclone Nargis in Burma
- Victims of the crash of Spanair Flight 5022 which crashed in Madrid on 20 August 2008
- Victims of the 2008 Kyrgyzstan earthquake
- Victims of the Winnenden school shooting
- Victims of the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake
- Victims of the bus accident in Egypt
- Victims of the Užice explosion
- Victims of the Air France Flight 447- which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on 1 June 2009.
- Victims of the Maguindanao massacre
- Victims of the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409
- Victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake
- Victims of the 2010 Madeira floods and mudslides
- Victims of the 2010 sinking of the Cheonan on 26 March 2010, and national mourning day of 25-29 April in South Korea
- Victims of the Smolensk air disaster
- Victims of the 2010 Yushu earthquake
- Victims of the 2010 Dhaka fire
- Victims of the 2010 Yanga train derailment
- Victims of the 2010 Gansu mudslide
- Victims of the 2010 Manila hostage crisis
- Victims of the Marhanets train and bus collision
- Victims of the Pike River Mine disaster
- Victims and damage of the 2010 Israel forest fire
- Victims of the January 2011 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides
- Victims of the Rio de Janeiro school shooting
- Victims of the 2011 Norway attacks
- Victims of the 2012 Buenos Aires rail disaster
- Victims of the 2012 Qafa e Vishës bus accident
- Victims of the 2012 Northern Italy earthquakes
- Victims of the 2012 Egyptian–Israeli border attack
- Victims of the 2012 East Azerbaijan earthquakes
- Victims of the 2012 Disaster at the Paraguana Refinery Complex
- Victims of the 2013 Houphouët-Boigny stampede
- Victims of the 2013 Santa Maria nightclub fire
- Victims of the 2013 Pemex Executive Tower explosion