National day of mourning

This article is about the general concept. For specific observances, see Day of mourning (disambiguation).

Finnish flag at half-staff due to the 2011 Norway attacks on July 22, 2011.

A national day of mourning is a day 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. Flying a flag of that country and/or military flag at half-staff is a common symbol.

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 (Lebanon)
• Presidents of the United States, usually on the day of their funerals, beginning with John F. Kennedy (these days are also considered Federal holidays). The most recent are:
  • Gerald Ford (2007)
  • Ronald Reagan (2004)
  • Richard Nixon (1994)
  • Harry S. Truman (1972)
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower (1969)
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt (1945)
• Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on 24 January 1965. January 25–27 was a period of national mourning in the United Kingdom
• Mustafa Kemal Atatürk – founder of the Republic of Turkey. 10 November is the national mourning day in Turkey, commemorating Atatürk's death on November 10, 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.
• 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 (who was given a national mourning period lasting a week), and Deng Xiaoping–China
• Diana, Princess of Wales who died on 31 August 1997. 6 September was a day of national mourning in the United Kingdom.
• 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.
• 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 January 27 to February 2, 2008.
• Fascist leader of Spain from 1939 to 1975 Francisco Franco. Twenty days of national mourning were declared following his demise on November 20, 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 (mainly African countries)
• Argentinean President Néstor Kirchner (mainly Latin American countries)
• North Korean leader Kim Il-sung, died on July 8, 1994. The mourning period was three years.
• Presidents of Mexico, usually on the day of their funerals (these days are usually considered municipal and religious holidays in Mexico City and federal holidays in the rest of the republic.) Miguel de la Madrid in 2012 was the most recent.
• North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who died on December 17, 2011, and nation's mourning period up to December 29
• President of the Czech Republic Václav Havel's death on December 18, 2011; 3 days of mourning (December 21–23, 2011).
• 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.
• 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.
• Hugo Chávez – President of Venezuela. Following his death seven days of mourning were declared in Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua. Three days of mouring declared in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Cuba and Belarus.
• Vo Nguyen Giap - Vietnamese General. Died in military hospital at age 102 on 4 October 2013. 12 and 13 October were declared national mourning in Vietnam
• Former President of South Africa and Anti-Apartheid campaigner Nelson Mandela, who died on 5 December 2013. Official day of National Mourning in South Africa on 8 December to 15 December 2013.
• Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, in Singapore, died on 23 March 2015. Official days of National Mourning in Singapore is 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 is from 27 July to 2 August 2015.
• The day that former Queen-consort Anne of Romania is going to be buried, will be national mourning for Romania and for Moldova. She died on the first day of August 2016 in a Swiss hospital.
• 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. Officials day of National Mourning in Italy on 19 September 2016.
• Former Israeli President Shimon Peres, died on September 27, 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.
• The Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej has died on 13 October 2016. His funeral will take place with a one year period of mourning.
• Former Cuban President Fidel Castro died on 25 November 2016. Official days of National Mourning in Cuba are from 26 November to 4 December.

Religious figures

• Iglesia ni Cristo Executive Minister Eraño Manalo, (Philippines),
• Mother Teresa of Calcutta, (mainly India, Albania, and some Roman Catholic countries)
• Patriarch Teoctist of Romania (Romania)
• Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria (Bulgaria)
• Serbian Patriarch Pavle
• Pope John Paul II, (mainly Roman Catholic countries)
• Venerable Master Yin Shun (Taiwan)

Sporting figures

• Abebe Bikila (Ethiopia)
• Eusébio (Portugal)
• Ferenc Puskás (Hungary)
• Ayrton Senna Brazil had three days of mourning

Tragedies

• Victims of the Armenian Genocide are remembered every year in Armenia on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day on April 24
• Victims of the 19th century Circassian Genocide are remembered in the Circassian Day of Mourning
• Victims of the Soviet deportations from Estonia (1941 ; 1949) are remembered every year on June 14 in Estonia.
• Victims of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941: Day of Remembrance and Mourning, held on June 22 annually in the countries of the CIS
• Victims of the Nanking Massacre (Taiwan and mainland China)
• Israel's Yom HaShoah in remembrance of the Holocaust
• Victims of the Great Chilean earthquake of 1960.
• Survivors and victims of European Settlement of the Americas are honored every year on Thanksgiving Day during the National Day of Mourning protest in Plymouth, Massachusetts. First celebrated in 1970; organized by United American Indians of New England.
• Victims of the United States invasion of Panama (1989) are remembered in December
• Victims of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 (Hong Kong)
• Victims of the 1990 20 January Black January Massacre by Soviet Union Red army (Azerbaijan, Baku)
• Victims of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing (United States)
• Victims of the Columbine High School massacre
• Victims of the 1999 Taiwan earthquake (Taiwan)
• Victims of September 11, 2001 attacks (United States of America, Canada, France, Germany, Croatia, Republic of Korea, Japan, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Albania, Vietnam, United Kingdom, Israel, and Ireland)
• Victims of the 2003 Nasiriyah bombing (Italy, May 2, 2003)
• Victims of the 2004 Tsunami in Southeast Asia (All parts of the world)
• Victims of the 2004 terrorist train bombing in Madrid, Spain (Spain, Romania, Poland and Portugal)
• Victims of the 2005 terrorist bombings in London (United Kingdom, Poland)
• Victims of Hurricane Katrina (United States) August 29, 2005
• Victims of 2006 Slovak Air Force Antonov An-24 crash (Slovakia, January 19, 2006
• Victims of the 2006 roof collapse in Katowice (Poland), January 29, 2006 – February 1, 2006
• Victims of the mining disaster at the Halemba Coal Mine in Ruda Śląska (Poland), November 23, 2006 – November 25, 2006
• Victims of the Ulyanovskaya Mine disaster, the crash of UT Air Flight 471 and a fire in a retirement home (Russia), March 21, 2007
• Victims of the 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre (United States, held once)
• Victims of the crash of TAM Airlines Flight 3054 (Brazil, 3 days)
• Victims of the 2007 Slovenia floods (held September 21, 2007) (Slovenia)
• Toše Proeski's death in a car accident on October 17, 2007 (Macedonia)
• Victims of the Polish Army aircraft crash in Mirosławiec on January 23, 2008 (Poland)
• Victims of the Northern Illinois University shooting (United States, held once)
• Victims of the fire that occurred on 28 February 2008 and caused 9 deaths on the BDZ Sofia – Kardam night train (Bulgaria, 1 day)
• Victims of the 2008 Cameroonian anti-government protests, called for on the April 21, 2008
• Victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake
• Victims of Cyclone Nargis in Burma (Myanmar, 3 days)
• Victims of the crash of Spanair Flight 5022 which crashed in Madrid on August 20, 2008
• Victims of the 2008 Kyrgyzstan earthquake
• Victims of the Black Saturday bushfires in Australia
• Victims of the Winnenden school shooting (March 12, 2009, Germany)
• Victims of the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake (2009, Italy)
• Victims of the 2009 Fire in Kamień Pomorski (2009, Poland)
• Victims of the bus accident in Yambol (2009, Bulgaria)
• Victims of the bus accident in Egypt (2009, Serbia)
• Victims of the Užice explosion (2009, Serbia)
• Victims of the Air France Flight 447- which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009.
• Victims of the 2009 Republic of Macedonia boat accident on Lake Ohrid (2009, Bulgaria and Republic of Macedonia)
• Victims of the Maguindanao Massacre (2009, Philippines)
• Victims of the Perm Lame Horse club fire (2009, Russia)
• Victims of the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 (January 2009, Lebanon)
• Victims of the November 2009 Fort Hood massacre by U.S. Army Major Dr. Nidal Malik Hassan (United States)
• Victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake
• Victims of the 2010 Madeira floods and mudslides (February 2010, Madeira, Portugal)
• Victims of the 2010 sinking of the Cheonan on March 26, 2010, and national mourning day of April 25 to 29 in South Korea
• Victims of the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash (April 2010, Poland, Brazil, Canada, Spain, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey and Ukraine)
• 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 (August 24–26 in Hong Kong SAR of PR China, August 25 in Philippines)
• Victims of the Marhanets train and bus collision (2010, Ukraine)
• Victims of the Phnom Penh stampede (2010, Cambodia)
• Victims of the Pike River Mine disaster (2010, New Zealand)
• Victims and damage of the 2010 Israel forest fire
• Victims of the January 2011 Tucson shooting (United States)
• Victims of the January 2011 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides (2011, Brazil, 3 days)
• Victims of the Rio de Janeiro school shooting (2011, Brazil)
• Victims of the 2011 Norway attacks (Norway, Sweden)
• Victims of the 2012 Buenos Aires train crash (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2 days)
• Victims of the 2012 Qafa e Vishës bus accident (Albania, 1 day)
• Victims of the 2012 Szczekociny train collision (Poland)
• Victims of the 2012 Sierre bus disaster (Belgium, 1 day)
• Victims of the 2012 Dana Airline Flight 9J-997 crash (Lagos, Nigeria, 3 days)
• Victims of the 2012 Northern Italy earthquakes (Italy, 1 day)
• Victims of the 2012 Russian floods (Russia, 1 day)
• Victims of the July 2012 Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting (United States)
• Victims of the August 5, 2012 Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting (United States)
• Victims of the 2012 Egyptian–Israeli border attack (Egypt, 3 days)
• Victims of the 2012 East Azerbaijan earthquakes (Iran, 2 days)
• Victims of the 2012 Disaster at the Paraguana Refinery Complex (Venezuela, 3 days)
• Victims of the December 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting (United States)
• Victims of the 2013 Houphouet-Boigny stampede (Ivory Coast, 3 days)
• Victims of the 2013 Santa Maria nightclub fire (Brazil, 3 days)
• Victims of the 2013 Pemex Executive Tower explosion (Mexico, 3 days)
• Victims of the 2013 Bulgarian protests (Bulgaria, 1 day)
• Victims of the 2013 Romanian bus accident in Montenegro (Romania, 1 day; Montenegro, 1 day)
• Victims of the 2013 Santiago de Compostela derailment (Spain, 3 day)
• Victims of the Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)
• Victims of the 2013 Sardinia floods (November 22, 2013, Italy, 1 day)
• Victims of the 2013 Zolitūde shopping centre roof collapse (Latvia, together with Estonia and Lithuania)
• Victims of the 2014 Algeria Lockheed C-130 Hercules crash
• Victims of the 2014 Soma mine disaster (Turkey, 3 days; Northern Cyprus, 2 days; Pakistan, 1 day)
• Victims of the 2014 Southeast Europe floods (Serbia, 3 days; Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1 day)
• Victims of the Ukrainian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 shoot-down (Ukraine, 1 day)
• Victims of the 2014 Bulgarian floods (Bulgaria, 1 day)
• Palestinian victims of the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict (Palestine 3 days; Turkey 3 days; Northern Cyprus 3 days; Pakistan 1 day)

The 44 police officers who perished during the Mamasapano clash

• Victims of the 2014 MH17 crash (Netherlands 1 day; Malaysia; 1 day Australia 1 day) held in Melbourne. 16 of the 38 confirmed Australian victims were from Victoria, hence the location of the National day of mourning
• Victims of the 2014 Air Algérie Flight 5017 crash (Algeria 3 days; Burkina Faso 2 days)
• Victims of the 2014 Peshawar school massacre (Pakistan, 3 days)
• Victims of the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris, France (France, 1 day)
• Victims of the Mamasapano clash that killed 44 members of Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, Philippines (January 30, Philippines, 1 day)
• Victims of the 2015 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash that killed eight people, including the ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines.
• Victims of the 2015 Karachi bus shooting (Pakistan, 1 day)
• Victims of the 2015 Hajj stampede in Mina (Iran, 3 days)
• Victims of the 2015 Kogalymavia Flight 9268 crash (Russia, 1 day)
• Victims of the 2015 Colectiv nightclub fire (Romania, 3 days)
• Victims of the November 2015 Paris attacks (France 3 days; Hungary 1 day)
• Victims of the March 2016 Brussels bombings (Belgium 3 days)
• Victims of the 2016 Atatürk Airport attack (Turkey and Northern Cyprus, 1 day)
• Victims of the July 2016 Nice attack (France 3 days)
• Victims of the August 2016 Central Italy earthquake (Italy and Romania, 1 day)
• Victims of the Semnan–Damghan train collision (Iran, 2 day)