Turkey’s history of ‘National Mourning’… Here are the events for which mourning has been declared from the past to the present

Following the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, a one-day period of national mourning (August 2, 2024) has been declared in Turkey.

Following this decision, Turkey's record of National Mourning has also become a subject of curiosity.

So, for which events has Turkey declared a National Day of Mourning?

Here is the National Mourning report card of the 101-year history of the Republic...

Turkey declared its first National Day of Mourning 15 years after its founding.

Turkey observed its first national mourning on November 10, 1938, following the passing of the founder of the Republic, the Great Leader Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Subsequently, a national day of mourning was declared in 1973 for İsmet İnönü, the 2nd President of the Republic of Turkey.

Following the death of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989, the National Mourning declared was the first mourning period announced in Turkey following an event that occurred outside the country.

The passing of Turgut Özal in 1993 marked Turkey's 4th National Day of Mourning.

The 2001 Twin Towers (September 11) attack in the US also marked the last National Day of Mourning of the pre-AKP era.

The death of Pope John Paul II in 2005 also marked the first National Day of Mourning during the AKP era.

Other National Mourning periods are as follows:

2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

2012 Death of Rauf Denktaş

2014 Soma Mine Disaster

2014 Operation Protective Edge in Palestine

2014 Attack in the City of Peshawar, Pakistan

2015 Death of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. (President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also attended the ceremony)

2015 Death of Süleyman Demirel

2015 Ankara Train Station Bombing

2016 İstanbul Atatürk Airport Attack

2016 Dolmabahçe Police Point Attack

2017 Sinai Mosque Attack in Egypt

2018 Gaza Border Protests

2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake

The 2023 Israeli bombing attack on the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza

2024 - A national day of mourning was declared following the death of the Iranian President and his cabinet in a helicopter crash after their visit to Azerbaijan.

Finally, a one-day period of national mourning was declared today (02.08.2024) following the assassination of Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the capital of Iran.