What is National Mourning, What Happens When National Mourning Is Declared? When Was the Last National Mourning Declared?

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that 7 days of national mourning has been declared due to the earthquakes in Turkey. Flags will be hoisted at half-mast until the sun goes down on Sunday, February 12, 2023, in all the country and abroad. After the statement, the definition of national mourning and the situations in which it was declared came to the fore. So, what is national mourning, in what situations is it declared? Why is the flag lowered at half-mast on days of national mourning? What happens when national mourning is declared, do you go to work?

What is National Mourning?

National mourning or national mourning is the day of mourning and commemoration performed by the majority of a country's people.

Nowadays; It is announced by governments on the occasion of the death, funeral or anniversary of an important person or persons from that country or elsewhere. In addition, national mourning can be declared after a natural disaster, disaster, accident, war or terrorist attack in a country. The halving of flags and a moment of silence is a common ritual.

Why is the Flag Half Raised on National Mourning Days?

The tradition of halving the flag began in the 17th century. According to some sources, the basis of lowering the flag is to make room for an “invisible flag of death”.

The Turkish flag is lowered at half-mast every 10 November between 1938:9 and sunset in memory of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who died on November 5, 10, at 09 am to 05 am. At other times, the government may decide to lower the flag at half-mast during national mourning or as a sign of respect in memory of key figures in Turkish politics.

When such a decision is made, all government buildings, offices, public schools and military bases lower their flags at half-mast.

The flag in the Grand National Assembly in Ankara is never lowered at half-mast regardless of the situation, while the flag in Anıtkabir, where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's mausoleum is located, is only lowered at half-mast on 10 November. The flag to be hoisted must first be raised to its full height and then lowered to half of the mast.

national mourning notices

• government officials

  • Mustafa Kemal Atatürk – Founder and first president of the Turkish Republic. Atatürk, who died on November 10, 1938, is commemorated on November 10 every year.
  • Winston Churchill - British Prime Minister. He died on January 24, 1965. From 25 to 27 January 1965, official national mourning was declared in the United Kingdom.
  • Hirohito - Emperor of Japan. He died on January 7, 1989. In the two days following his death and on the day of his funeral, national mourning was declared in his country. 
  • Turgut Özal – 8th President of the Republic of Turkey. He died on April 17, 1993. National mourning was declared between 17-21 April 1993 in Turkey and three days in Egypt and Pakistan. 
  • Yitzhak Rabin – 5th Prime Minister of Israel. He died as a result of an assassination on November 4, 1995. This date is commemorated as the national day of mourning in Israel.
  • Diana Spencer – Princess of Wales. He died on August 31, 1997. National mourning was declared in his home country of the United Kingdom on September 6, 1997.
  • Néstor Kirchner – 51st President of Argentina. He died on October 27, 2010. Along with Argentina, many Latin American countries declared three days of national mourning.
  • Kim Jong-il - North Korean national leader. He died on December 17, 2011. National mourning was declared in his native North Korea on December 17-29, 2011.
  • Rauf Denktaş – President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. He died on January 13, 2012. National mourning was declared on 14-17 January 2012 in Turkey and on 14-20 January 2012 in the TRNC.
  • Nelson Mandela - President of South Africa. He died on December 5, 2013. National mourning was declared in his country on 8-15 December 2013.
  • Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud - King of Saudi Arabia. He died on January 23, 2015. National mourning was declared for 40 days in Bahrain, 7 days in Egypt, 3 days in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco and Lebanon, and 24 day in Turkey on January 2015, 1.
  • Süleyman Demirel – President of Turkey. He died on June 17, 2015. National mourning was declared on 17-19 June 2015 in his country.
  • Islam Karimov - President of Uzbekistan. After his death on September 2, 2016, three days of national mourning were declared in Uzbekistan.
  • Bhumibol Adulyadej – King of Thailand. He died on October 13, 2016 at the age of 88. A year of national mourning was declared in Thailand after his death.
  • Caliph bin Hamed al-Thani – Emir of Qatar. After his death on October 23, 2016, three days of national mourning were declared in his country, Qatar.^[1
  • Fidel Castro - President of Cuba. He died on November 25, 2016. After his death, 9 days of national mourning were declared in Cuba, 8 days in Algeria and three days in Venezuela.
  • Jalal Talabani - President of Iraq. He died on October 3, 2017. After his death, seven days of national mourning were declared in the Kurdistan Regional Government and three days in Iraq.
  • Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah - Emir of Kuwait. Forty days of national mourning was declared in Kuwait for the emir, who died at the age of 28 on September 2020, 91.
  • Karolos Papoulias – President of Greece. He died on December 26, 2021 at the age of 92. Three days of national mourning was declared by the Greek government.
  • Khalifa bin Zayed an-Nahyan - President of the United Arab Emirates. He died on May 13, 2022, at the age of 73. For Nehyan, 40 days in Jordan and Kuwait, 3 days in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon, Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, Pakistan and Brazil, and 2 days in Algeria, in addition to his country in the United Arab Emirates.^[28]One day of national mourning was declared in the State of Palestine, India and Bangladesh.

  religious leaders

  • II. John Paulus was declared in mourning in mostly Roman Catholic countries.
  • Mother Teresa was declared in mourning in Albania, India and some Roman Catholic countries.

  Other people

  • Daphne Caruana Galizia – Maltese journalist. She died on October 16, 2017, when the bomb placed in her car exploded. The day of his funeral, 3 November 2017, was declared national mourning by the Maltese government.
  • Qassem Soleimani - Iranian general and Quds Force commander. He was assassinated on January 3, 2020, in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, at the behest of the President of the United States, Donald Trump. Three days of national mourning were declared in his country, Iran, as well as in Iraq.
  • Mikis Theodorakis – Greek composer, politician and activist. Three days of national mourning was declared in Greece for Theodorakis, who died at the age of 2 on September 2021, 96.
  • Pelé - Brazilian football player. He died on December 29, 2022, at the age of 82 due to colon cancer. Three days of national mourning have been declared in his native Brazil.

  tragedies

  • National mourning has been declared for the victims of the September 11 attacks in the United States, Israel, Canada, France, Croatia, South Korea, Japan, China, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Albania, Vietnam, the United Kingdom and Ireland.
  • For the victims of the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, a day of mourning was declared in Italy on 10 April 2009 and flags were lowered at half-mast.
  • For the victims of the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash, mourning has been declared in Poland, Brazil, Canada, Spain, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey and Ukraine.
  • For the victims of the 2011 Norway attacks, national mourning was declared on 24 July 2011 in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Iceland and Norway.
  • For the victims of the 2014 Soma Disaster, national mourning was declared on 13-15 May in Turkey, 15-16 May in the TRNC and 15 May in Pakistan.
  • For the victims of the 2014 Southeast European floods, national mourning was declared on May 21-23 in Serbia and May 20 in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
  • For the Palestinian victims of the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, national mourning was declared on 21-23 in Palestine, 22-24 in Turkey, 22-24 in the TRNC and 24 July 2014 in Pakistan, and all flags were lowered at half-mast.
  • On 17 July 23, national mourning was declared in the Netherlands for the victims of the MH 2014 plane crash.
  • National mourning was declared in France on 5017-28 July 30 for the victims of the plane crash AH 2014.
  • For the victims of the 2014 Peshawar school attack, 3 days of national mourning were declared in Pakistan and 17 December in Turkey.
  • Three days of mourning have been declared in France for the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack.
  • Three days of national mourning has been declared by the Islamic Republic of Iran for the Iranian pilgrims who lost their lives in the 2015 Hajj stampede.
  • Following the 2015 Ankara attack, national mourning was declared on 10-12 October 11 in Turkey and 13-2015 October XNUMX in the TRNC.
  • Three days of national mourning was declared by Belgium after the 2016 Brussels attacks.
  • A one-day national mourning was declared in Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on 2016 June 29 for the people who lost their lives in the 2016 Atatürk Airport attack.
  • Three days of national mourning was declared by the French government after the 2016 Nice attack.
  • After the 2016 Skopje flood disaster, a day of national mourning was declared by the Macedonian government.
  • A day of national mourning was declared on 2016 August 27 for the victims of the 2016 Central Italy earthquake.
  • Three days of national mourning has been declared in Brazil for those who lost their lives in the LaMia Airlines flight 2933 crash.^[
  • A one-day national mourning was declared in Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on 2016 December 11 for those who lost their lives in the 2016 Beşiktaş attacks.
  • A day of national mourning was declared in Germany on 2016 December 20 for the victims of the 2016 Berlin attack.
  • On December 2016, 154, a day of national mourning was declared in Russia for the victims of the 26 Russian Ministry of Defense Tu-2016 accident.
  • As a result of the 2017 Mogadishu attack, 512 people lost their lives and 316 were injured. Three days of national mourning was declared in the country due to the attack.^[
  • In the 2017 Kermanshah earthquake, 540 people were killed and more than 8000 injured. For those who lost their lives in the earthquake, three days of national mourning were declared in Iran's Kermanshah Province and one day on 14 November 2017 across the country.
  • Three days of national mourning were declared in Egypt and one day on November 2017 in Turkey for those who died in the 27 Sinai mosque attack.
  • Three days of national mourning was declared in Turkey on May 2018-15 for those who died in the 17 Gaza border protests.
  • Three days of national mourning has been declared in Greece for those who lost their lives in the Attica forest fires.^[
  • Following the 2020 Beirut explosion, the Lebanese government declared national mourning across the country on 5 August 2020.^[
  • Three days of national mourning has been declared in Armenia for the Armenian victims of the Nagorno-Karabakh War 2020, starting from 19 December 2020.
  • Following the 2023 Gaziantep-Kahramanmaraş earthquakes, seven days of national mourning were declared on 6-12 February in Turkey and Northern Cyprus.