In August 2011, in a rare circumstance, Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered a state funeral for his political adversary and Leader of the Opposition,
Jack Layton. Layton died of cancer three months after his New Democratic Party became the official opposition, for the first time in his party's history.
In 2014, former finance minister
Jim Flaherty received a state funeral after his death.
Dominica
Crispin Sorhaindo, former President of Dominica, was given a state funeral on 18 January 2010, in Roseau.[12]
Ecuador
On 16 November 2016, the state funeral of former President of Ecuador
Sixto Durán Ballén was held in Quito.[13]
Grenada
On 16 March 2012, a state funeral was held in St. George's for former Grenadian Prime Minister
George Ignatius Brizan.[14]
Jamaica
Reggae singer
Bob Marley received a state funeral in Jamaica on 21 May 1981, which combined elements of Ethiopian Orthodoxy[15][16] and Rastafari tradition.[17]
On 18 July 2004, a state funeral was held for former Jamaican Prime Minister
Hugh Shearer in Kingston.[18]
On 23 June 2019, a state funeral was held for former Jamaican Prime Minister
Edward Philip George Seaga in Kingston.
Mexico
Novelist
Carlos Fuentes received a state funeral on 16 May 2012, with his funeral cortege briefly stopping traffic in Mexico City.[19]
State funerals have also been held for former Mexican presidents.
Sir
William George MalletGCSLGCMGCBE (24 July 1923 – 20 October 2010) received a state funeral on 28 October 2010, in the capital
Castries. Mallet was a politician who held a number of high offices in Saint Lucia, one of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Eastern Caribbean. On 1 June 1996, "Sir George" was appointed to the office of
Governor-General of St Lucia.
The Bahamas
On 4 September 2000, a state funeral was held in Nassau for former Bahamian Prime Minister Sir
Lynden Pindling.[20]
On 5 January 2012, a state funeral was held in Nassau for former Bahamian Governor-General Sir
Clifford Darling.[21]
In the United States, state funerals are held in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., and involve military spectacle, ceremonial pomp, and religious observance. As the highest possible honor bestowed upon a person
posthumously, state funerals are an entitlement offered to a sitting or former President of the United States, a
President-elect, as well as other people designated by the President.[22][23] Administered by the
Military District of Washington (MDW), state funerals are greatly influenced by
protocol, steeped in tradition, and rich in history. However, the overall planning as well as the decision to hold a state funeral, is largely determined by the President before his death and the
First Family.[24]
State funerals have been held in Washington D.C. for:
In rare occasions a Commonwealth state funeral is offered to people outside politics but who made a significant contribution to the nation, for example Sir
Douglas Mawson was granted a Commonwealth state funeral in 1958.[43]
The
Unknown Soldier was given a Commonwealth military state funeral on 11 November 1993, before being interred in the Hall of Memory at the
Australian War Memorial.
New South Wales
The first state funeral in New South Wales was accorded to statesman
William Wentworth on 6 May 1873.[44]
Some former governors who had previous military service were given military state funerals, for example Rear Admiral Sir
David Martin and Air Marshal Sir
James Rowland.
On 27 November 2007,
Bernie Banton, a campaigner for asbestos victims who worked for James Hardie, lost his battle with mesothelioma, an asbestos-related disease. His family was offered a state funeral by NSW premier
Morris Iemma.
State funerals are generally offered to former Governors, Premiers, Deputy Premiers, Speakers of the House of Assembly, Chief Justices and other senior public officials.
Surveyor General Lieutenant Colonel
William Light (1786–1839) received South Australia's, and Australia's, first state funeral on October 10, 1839.[56]
Western Australia
The offer of a state funeral is a decision of the Cabinet.
Tasmania
State funerals are generally offered to former
Governors,
Premiers, Deputy Premiers, Speakers of the
House of Assembly, Chief Justices and other senior public officials.
Australian Capital Territory
The offer of a state funeral is at the discretion of the
Chief Minister. People who have received state funerals include:
Edward Youde was given Hong Kong's first state funeral in 1986.[57]
Hong Kong post-1997
Ann Tse-kai (2000)—Hong Kong – former Legislative Council, Executive Council of Hong Kong, Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Basic Law Committee, Hong Kong Affairs Advisor
Wong Ker-lee (2004) – Hong Kong business man, founder of Winco Paper Products
The
Unknown Warrior whose reinterment (from the Caterpillar Valley Cemetery on the Somme in France) took place on Armistice Day, 11 November 2004, and whose tomb at the
New Zealand National War Memorial represents all New Zealand soldiers who died in war.[92]
State funerals are infrequent in
North Korea.[95] Funerals, and who appears on official funeral committees, are considered important cues on power hierarchies of
North Korean politics.[96] According to a tradition inherited from the
Soviet Union, the chairperson of the funeral committee of a deceased
leader of North Korea is beyond all doubt the next leader. This held true when
Kim Il Sung died in 1994 and was succeeded by
Kim Jong Il, who in turn was succeeded by
Kim Jong Un in 2011.[97]
Wee Kim Wee (2 May 2005) – 4th President of Singapore
S. Rajaratnam (25 February 2006) – former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
Goh Keng Swee (23 May 2010) – former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore
Kwa Geok Choo (2 October 2010) – spouse of Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew (23 March 2015) – 1st Prime Minister of Singapore
S. R. Nathan (22 August 2016) – 6th President of Singapore
Another type of funeral in Singapore is a state-assisted funeral. Similar to a state funeral, the deceased may or may not be entitled to a ceremonial gun carriage, though he/she does not lie in state in the
Istana. Such funerals are accorded to:
Ong Teng Cheong (11 February 2002) – 5th President of Singapore
Lim Kim San (20 July 2006) – former Cabinet Minister
Toh Chin Chye (7 February 2012) – former Deputy Prime Minister
Othman Wok (17 April 2017) – former Cabinet Minister
South Korea
Previously, there were national funerals (국민장) and state funerals (국장). However, in 2009, the funeral of
Roh Moo-hyun was held as a national funeral and that of
Kim Dae-jung as a state funeral. This sparked controversy over the formality of the funeral, and the revision of the law in 2011 merged the two types of funerals into the state funeral (국가장).
State funerals in South Korea are a mix of the Western and Korean funeral traditions, which are modern adaptations of the rites held in the funerals of Emperors of Korea.
The following individuals have received state or national funerals in South Korea;
In Thailand, state funerals are mostly analogous to the
royal funerals held for the
monarch and members of the
Royal Family. Royal ceremonies are also held for the cremation of the
supreme patriarch and senior members of the Buddhist clergy.
Vietnam
A state funeral was arranged for the following people on their deathbed on the respective date:
On 29 August 1945, two years after the German occupation force in Denmark had dissolved the Danish army and navy, a state funeral was held for 106 killed members of the Danish resistance at their execution site which was thus inaugurated as the memorial cemetery that would later become
Ryvangen Memorial Park. While flags were flying half-mast throughout Copenhagen 106 hearses drove from the Christiansborg Riding Grounds through the city to Ryvangen, where bishop Hans Fuglsang-Damgaard led the funeral with participation from the royal family, the government and representatives of the resistance movement.[184]
The state funerals (obsèques nationales) are awarded by decree of the
President of the French Republic to especially eminent Frenchmen and women. It was held for:
In the second half of the 20th century, whenever a
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union died, the event would first be officially acknowledged by Soviet radio and television. After several days of
national mourning, the deceased would be given a state funeral and then buried. Soviet state funerals were often attended by foreign heads of state, heads of government, foreign ministers and other dignitaries from abroad. Following the death of General Secretary
Leonid Brezhnev in 1982, there were five days of national mourning. Following the death of General Secretary
Yuri Andropov in 1984, a four-day period of national mourning was announced.
The state funeral for a deceased General Secretary would be arranged, managed and prepared by a special committee of the
Communist Party that would be formed for the occasion. As the funeral committee would normally be chaired by the deceased's successor, the preparations for Soviet state funerals were usually followed with great interest by foreign
political scientists trying to gauge power shuffles within the Communist Party. The allocation of responsibilities during the funeral, appointment of
pallbearers and positions within the
order of precedence observed during the televised funeral ceremonies in Moscow could often be interpreted as a clue for the future position of
Politburo members within the Party. When, after Brezhnev's death in 1982, Yuri Andropov was elected chairman of the committee in charge of Brezhnev's funeral, this was seen as a first sign by
First World commentators that Andropov might be the most likely candidate for the position of General Secretary.[198]
Prior to interment, the body of the deceased General Secretary would lie in state in the Pillar Hall of the
House of the Unions which was decorated by numerous
red flags and other
communist symbols. The mourners, which usually would be brought in by the thousands, shuffled up a marble staircase beneath chandeliers draped in black gauze. On the stage at the left side of the Pillar Hall, amid a veritable garden of flowers, a full orchestra in black tailcoats would play classical music. The deceased's
embalmed body, dressed in a black suit, white shirt and a tie, would be displayed in an open coffin on a
catafalque banked with carnations, red roses and tulips, facing the long queue of mourners. A small
guard of honour would be in attendance in the background. At the right side of the hall there would be placed seats for guests of honour, with the front row reserved for the dead leader's family.
On the day of the funeral, final ceremonies would be held at the Pillar Hall during which the lid of the coffin would be temporarily closed. The coffin would then be carried out of the House of the Unions and placed on a
gun carriage drawn by a military vehicle. A funeral parade would then convey the coffin from the House of the Unions to the Red Square. Two officers led the funeral parade, carrying a large portrait of the deceased, followed by a group of numerous soldiers carrying red floral wreaths. A group of general officers would come next, carrying the late leader's decorations and medals on small red cushions. Behind them, the coffin rested atop a gun carriage. Walking immediately behind were the members of the deceased's family. The Politburo leaders, wearing red armbands, came next and led the last group of official mourners. At Brezhnev's funeral, the escort of official mourners included forty-four persons.
As the coffin reached the middle of the Red Square, it would be removed from the carriage and placed on a red-draped
bier facing the
Lenin Mausoleum, with its lid removed. After a series of funeral speeches, which were delivered by military and political leaders (typically including the deceased's successor as General Secretary, as well as 'ordinary' workers) from the balcony of the Lenin Mausoleum, the coffin would be carried in a procession around the mausoleum to the
Kremlin Wall Necropolis just behind it. There, with the most senior mourners looking on, the coffin would be placed on a red-draped bier and the mourners would pay last respects. The coffin's lid would then be closed for the final time and the body lowered into the ground by two men, with handfuls of earth thrown onto the coffin by the senior mourners. The grave would be filled in immediately afterward, while the mourners were still present to watch.
Gun salutes would be fired,
sirens sounded around the
Kremlin and the
Soviet national anthem be played. This marked the end of the interment. The senior mourners would then return to the balcony of the Lenin Mausoleum to review a parade on Red Square while the
military band would play
quick marches. This concluded the state funeral.
With small deviations, the described protocol was roughly the same for the state funerals of Lenin, Stalin, Brezhnev,
Yuri Andropov and
Konstantin Chernenko. Lenin and Stalin were placed inside the
Lenin Mausoleum while the others were interred in individual graves in the
Kremlin Wall Necropolis located behind the mausoleum along the actual
Kremlin wall. Stalin's body would lie beside Lenin's in the mausoleum until being moved to the Kremlin Wall Necropolis several years after his death.
In April 2007, the Russian Federation's first President
Boris Yeltsin was buried in state funeral after church ceremony at
Novodevichy Cemetery. He was the first Russian leader and head of state in 113 years to be buried in a church ceremony, after
EmperorAlexander III of Russia. His funeral is the template for all state funerals held in Russia today, but with the addition of prayers at the moment of burial by representatives of the Orthodox Church. In November 2010, the Russian Federation's third
Prime MinisterViktor Chernomyrdin was buried in a state funeral in a church ceremony at the
Novodevichy Cemetery. He was considered the 3rd Prime Minister in the Russian Federation . In June 2015, the Russian Federation's 5th Prime Minister
Yevgeny Primakov was buried in a state funeral in a church ceremony at the
Novodevichy Cemetery.
Slovakia
A state funeral was held for the former President
Michal Kováč in 2016.
^Cha, Victor; Lim, Andy (November 13, 2015).
"Yet Another Purge in North Korea?". Center for Strategic and International Studies. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
^Kim Kwang-il; Pak Hak-il; Han Jong-yon; Cha Kwang-hyok; Myong Sun-jong (2007).
Anecdotes of Kim Il-sung's Life(PDF). Vol. 1. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House. pp. 17–18.
OCLC591409714.
^"Historie – Mindelunden Ryvangen" [History – Ryvangen Memorial Park] (in Danish). Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs. Archived from
the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2015.