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Death and funeral of Hassan II of Morocco

1999 death and funeral of the King of Morocco From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Death and funeral of Hassan II of Morocco

Hassan II, King of Morocco since 1961, died on 23 July 1999 in the capital of Rabat, at the age of 70. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Crown Prince Sidi Mohammed, who acceded to the throne as King Mohammed VI. Hassan's remains were interred at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V in Rabat on 25 July, following an Islamic funeral ceremony.

Quick Facts Date, Location ...
Death and funeral of Hassan II of Morocco
Hassan II in 1982
Date23 July 1999; 25 years ago (1999-07-23) at 16:30 (UTC)
(death)
25 July 1999
(funeral and burial)
LocationRabat, Morocco
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The Moroccan government officially declared a period of mourning following Hassan's death. Condolences were presented by the new king and officials from multiple countries, as well as the United Nations.

Background

Hassan acceded to the throne of Morocco following his father's death on 26 February 1961.

During a visit to New York in 1995, he was hospitalized due to pneumonia, at which point he was advised by his doctors to quit smoking.[1][2] Hassan reportedly preferred to avoid being treated outside his home country, in contrast to King Hussein of Jordan, who spent several of his final weeks at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota.[3]

Hassan turned 70 on 9 July 1999. His last foreign visit five days later was to Paris, where he attended the annual Bastille Day military parade as a guest of French president Jacques Chirac. On 21 July, two days before his death, he hosted Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh for an official reception dinner in Rabat.[1][4]

Death

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Hassan's health began to decline progressively in the early hours of 23 July. After being admitted to the Royal Palace clinic at 08:00 (UTC), he was placed under observation and responded normally to treatment. At around noon, he fell into a comatose state due to a myocardial infarction and was transferred to the CHU Ibn Sina [fr] hospital, which later released an official statement indicating that the king was "suffering from acute pneumopathy".[4][5][6] By this time, his two sons, Crown Prince Sidi Mohammed and Prince Moulay Rachid, were at his bedside, with his nephew Prince Moulay Hicham en route from Paris, while Moroccan state television began broadcasting recitals of the Quran.[3] At 14:15, Sidi Mohammed called Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi to inform him of his father's declining health.[3]

Hassan was pronounced dead at 16:30.[7] It was publicly announced at 20:40, in a televised speech by Mohammed. An official ascension ceremony took place in the evening, with him taking the title of King Mohammed VI, and Moulay Rachid becoming crown prince. Princes Moulay Hicham and Moulay Ismail also attended, along with members of the government and royal cabinet who swore an oath of allegiance (bay'ah) to the new monarch.[7][8]

Reactions

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His Majesty has passed away this afternoon at 4:30 p.m. of a cardiac arrest as a result of complications that could not be treated. [...] On this painful occasion, I express my deep condolences to the faithful people of Morocco, which has always shown its love, faith and loyalty to this courageous king.[1]

Following the announcement of the king's death, hundreds of mourners visited the Royal Palace in Rabat, and a television anchor on state broadcaster RTM openly cried.[9] A 40-day period of national mourning was declared, with flags due to be flown at half-mast at public and semi-public institutions, as well as Moroccan diplomatic missions abroad.[9][10][8] Libération reported that the stock market and public services reopened on 25 July, in spite of the mourning period.[11]

The Polisario Front, a Sahrawi nationalist movement which fought a war with Morocco from 1975 to 1991, said Hassan "would be remembered for ruling the disputed territory with ruthless oppression".[12] Polisario leader Mohamed Abdelaziz, in a telegram to King Mohammed VI, said Hassan's death was "tragic news which has deeply afflicted us".[13]

International

Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika described Hassan's death as "a source of great sadness for me personally and for the majority of Algerians who are proud of the joint heritage between Algeria and Morocco".[14] He was referred to by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak as "a brother, friend and comrade-in-arms", and by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir as "a symbol of moderateness whose support was sought by all" and who had been "a brother and a friend and a messenger of peace among nations".[14] Official mourning was declared in several Arab states.[14][15][16][10] Iran, whose relations with Morocco were strained following the 1979 revolution, released a statement saying there was "no doubt that King Hassan played a remarkable role in managing the affairs of Morocco, not to mention his role in north-west Africa in terms of creating a stable climate".[17]

Israeli president Ezer Weizman referred to Hassan as a "true partner" in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process,[18] while former prime minister Shimon Peres said that Hassan "contributed a great deal" to the peace process.[9] Moroccan Jews in Israel observed seven days of mourning for the late king.[18] Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat paid homage to his "stances in defence of the Palestinian people and their right to establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital".[14] Following the announcement of Hassan's death, Arafat suspended a meeting of Palestinian leadership in Gaza.[14] The Palestinian leadership declared three days of official mourning.[9]

President Jacques Chirac of France, who at the time was in Nigeria for a state visit, expressed his "immense pain", referring to Hassan as "a man who loved our country and who loved the French". A planned dinner for Chirac hosted by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo was cancelled following the king's death. Prime Minister Lionel Jospin remarked that "throughout his reign, marked by a unique relationship of friendship and trust between Morocco and France, the King has embodied the fundamental values of his country, in its traditions as well as in its openness to the world".[19]

US President Bill Clinton released an official statement saying that the "prayers of all Americans go out to the royal family and the people of Morocco".[20] In a later interview, he remarked that Hassan had "worked very hard to reconcile the differences among the Moroccan people, within Morocco, and therefore, to set an example of the kind of thing that all of us should be doing".[21] Russian President Boris Yeltsin, in a telegram of condolences, referred to Hassan as "a wise leader who had worked tirelessly for peace".[12] Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said that Hassan would be remembered for "dedication and fortitude", while Queen Elizabeth II privately conveyed her condolences to King Mohammed VI.[12][22]

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan remarked, "By serving as a bridge of peace between different nations and cultures, King Hassan made Morocco itself a bridge of understanding and cooperation between Europe and Africa, North and South, East and West."[9] During a plenary meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on 28 July, President Didier Opertti and representatives of the United Nations Regional Groups paid tribute, and a minute of silence was observed.[23]

Funeral

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Islamic custom dictates that a burial should take place as soon as possible after death, usually within 24 hours.[24] The Moroccan cabinet, headed by Abderrahmane Youssoufi, held an extraordinary meeting on 24 July to discuss the implementation of the funeral proceedings,[8][25] which were subsequently delayed by a day to allow time for foreign dignitaries to travel to Rabat.[26]

The funeral began at approximately 15:00 (UTC) on 25 July, when Hassan's coffin, draped in a cloth depicting the Shahada in golden writing, was placed on a gun carriage after being carried outside the royal palace, and the national anthem was sung. His relatives, including King Mohammed VI and Crown Prince Moulay Rachid, followed the procession alongside army officials and foreign dignitaries.[26][27][28][29] Hundreds of thousands of mourners lined the route of the procession, many of them praying, crying, or holding pictures of the late king. Some isolated cases of fainting were reported.[26][30]

Following the arrival of the coffin at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, senior members of the Moroccan royal family led a congregation at the nearby Hassan Mosque. The congregation performed the Asr prayer, followed by the salat al-janazah (funeral prayer), before Hassan's remains were buried within the mausoleum.[26][28]

Representatives from over 45 countries visited Rabat for the funeral proceedings, including 36 heads of state and government. They marched in front of Hassan's coffin during its procession, although the funeral service itself was open only to Muslim foreign representatives.[25][29] Hafez al-Assad, President of Syria, was initially expected to attend the funeral, but for unknown reasons cancelled his attendance immediately beforehand.[31][32]

List of foreign dignitaries

Royalty

Delegations

Heads of state and government

Other governmental representatives

International organisations

See also

References

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