National day of mourning

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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 that nation's 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.

Selected list of figures recognized by national days of mourning

State officials

• 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 (2006)
  • Ronald Reagan (2004)
• After the assassination of the Swedish Social Democratic Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1986-Sweden, Cuba, Nicaragua and Vietnam.
• Leaders Zhou Enlai, Mao Zedong (who was given a national mourning period lasting a week), and Deng Xiaoping - China
• Yitzhak Rabin, the Prime Minister of Israel who was assassinated on November 4, 1995; a national day of mourning is commemorated in Israel and in various Jewish communities worldwide.
• Indonesia former President Soeharto. 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.
• Alexander Dubček's death, at the time he was the chairman of the Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia
• Philippine former President Corazon Aquino. Following her death in August 2009, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared seven days of National Mourning from August 1, 2009 to August 10, 2009 and instructed all flags of all government buildings and installations throughout the Philippines and abroad shall be flown at half-mast.

Religious figures

• Pope John Paul II, (mainly Roman Catholic countries)
• Venerable Master Yin Shun (Taiwan)
• Patriarch Pavle of Serbia^[1]

Sporting figures

• Ayrton Senna (Brazil)
• Abebe Bikila (Ethiopia)
• Ferenc Puskas (Hungary)

Tragedies

• Victims of the 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 Nanking Massacre (Taiwan and mainland China)
• Israel's Yom HaShoah in remembrance of the Holocaust
• Survivors and victims of European Settlement of the Americas are honored every year on Thanksgiving Day during the National Day of Mourning (United States protest) in Plymouth, MA. First celebrated in 1970; organized by United American Indians of New England. [1]
• 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 1995 Oklahoma City bombing (United States)
• Victims of the 1999 Taiwan Earthquake (Taiwan)
• Victims of September 11, 2001 attacks (United States of America, State of Israel, Poland and Republic of Ireland)
• Victims of the 2003 Nasiriyah bombing (Italy, 2 May 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)
• Victims of Hurricane Katrina (United States) 29 August 2005
• Victims of the 2006 roof collapse in Katowice (Poland), 29 January 2006 - 1 February 2006
• Victims of the mining disaster at the Halemba mine in Ruda Śląska (Poland), 23 November 2006 - 25 November 2006
• Victims of the Ulyanovskaya Mine disaster, the crash of UT Air Flight 471 and a fire in a retirement home (Russia), 21 March 2007
• Victims of the 2007 Virginia Tech Massacre (United States, held once)
• Victims of the 2007 Slovenia floods (held 21 September 2007) (Slovenia)
• Toše Proeski's death in a car accident on 17 October 2007 (Macedonia)
• Victims of the Polish Army aircraft crash in Mirosławiec on 23 January 2008 (Poland)
• Victims of the 2008 Cameroonian anti-government protests, called for on the 21 April 2008
• Victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake
• 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 Black Saturday bushfires in Australia
• Victims of the Winnenden school shooting (12 March 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 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)

1. ^ Serbia observes first day of mourning