Death and funeral of Hassan II of Morocco

Death and funeral of Hassan II of Morocco
On 23 July 1999 Hassan II, King of Morocco since 1961, died at the age of 70 in the capital of Rabat. His death was announced in the evening by his eldest son, Crown Prince Sidi Mohammed, who succeeded him 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.
The Moroccan government officially declared a period of mourning following Hassan's death; representatives of multiple countries, as well as the United Nations, offered condolences.
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, Hassan was admitted to hospital due to respiratory issues, at which point he was advised by his doctors to quit smoking. In contrast to King Hussein of Jordan, Hassan reportedly preferred to avoid treatment outside his home country.
Hassan's 70th birthday was marked on 9 July 1999. In the weeks prior to his death, on 14 July, he attended the annual Bastille Day military parade in Paris, after which he hosted President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen for an official dinner in Rabat on 21 July.
Death
Hassan II'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 hospital, which later released an official statement indicating that the king was "suffering from acute pneumopathy".
By this time, Hassan's two sons, Crown Prince Sidi Mohammed and Prince Moulay Rachid, were at his bedside, with his nephew Prince Moulay Hicham boarding a flight bound for Rabat from Paris, while Moroccan state television began broadcasting recitals of the Quran. At 14:15, Sidi Mohammed called Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi to inform him of his father's declining health. Hassan II was pronounced dead at 16:30.
Mohammed made a speech publicly announcing Hassan's death at 20:40. He then formally assumed the throne as King Mohammed VI, with Moulay Rachid becoming crown prince, in an official ceremony also attended by Princes Moulay Hicham and Moulay Ismail, and members of the government and royal cabinet.
Reactions
Following the announcement of the king's death, hundreds of mourners visited the Royal Palace in Rabat, while an anchor on Moroccan state television openly cried. 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. Libération reported that the stock market and public services reopened on 25 July, in spite of the mourning period.
The Polisario Front, which fought a war with Morocco from 1975 to 1991, said Hassan "would be remembered for ruling the disputed territory with ruthless oppression". Polisario leader Mohamed Abdelaziz, in a telegram to King Mohammed VI, said Hassan's death was "tragic news which has deeply afflicted us".
International
Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika said that Hassan's death was "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". Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak referred to the king as "a brother, friend and comrade-in-arms", while President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan described him as "a symbol of moderateness whose support was sought by all", adding that he had been "a brother and a friend and a messenger of peace among nations". Official mourning was declared in several Arab states.
Israeli president Ezer Weizman referred to Hassan as a "true partner" in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, while former prime minister Shimon Peres said that Hassan "contributed a great deal" to the peace process. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat paid homage to "King Hassan II's stances in defence of the Palestinian people and their right to establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital". Following the announcement of Hassan's death, Arafat suspended a meeting of Palestinian leadership in Gaza. The Palestinian leadership declared three days of official mourning.
French president Jacques Chirac, then on an official visit to Nigeria, expressed his "immense pain", referring to Hassan II as "a man who loved our country and who loved the French". A planned gala dinner co-hosted by Chirac and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo was cancelled following the king's death. French 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".
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". 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". Russian President Boris Yeltsin, in a telegram of condolences, referred to Hassan as "a wise leader who had worked tirelessly for peace". Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said that Hassan would be remembered for "dedication and fortitude", while Queen Elizabeth II sent a message of condolences to King Mohammed VI.
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." 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.
Funeral
Islamic custom dictates that a burial should take place as soon as possible after death, usually within 24 hours. The Moroccan cabinet, headed by Abderrahmane Youssoufi, held an extraordinary meeting on 24 July to discuss implementation and preparations for the funeral, which was to be delayed by a day to allow time for foreign dignitaries to travel to Rabat.
At approximately 15:00 (UTC) on 25 July, Hassan's coffin, draped in a cloth depicting the Shahada in golden writing, was placed on a gun carriage after being carried out of the Royal Palace hall, and the national anthem was sung. His relatives, including King Mohammed VI and Crown Prince Moulay Rachid, followed the procession. The route itself was lined by hundreds of thousands of Moroccans, many of them crying, holding pictures of King Hassan, or praying; some cases of fainting were reported.
Following the arrival of the coffin at the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, a congregation at the nearby al-Hassan Mosque, which included senior members of the Moroccan royal family, performed the Asr prayer, followed by the salat al-janazah (funeral prayer), before Hassan's remains were buried within the mausoleum.
Foreign dignitaries
Representatives from over 45 countries were present in Rabat for the funeral, including 36 heads of state and government. Many dignitaries marched in front of the coffin of King Hassan II during the funeral processions, with only Muslim foreign representatives attending the funeral service at the al-Hassan Mosque.
Hafez al-Assad, President of Syria, was expected to attend the funeral, but for unknown reasons cancelled his attendance immediately beforehand.
Royalty
The Emir of Bahrain
The King of Belgium
The Prince Takamado (representing the Emperor of Japan)
The King of Jordan
The Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Kuwait (representing the Emir of Kuwait)
Princess Margriet of the Netherlands (representing the Queen of the Netherlands)
The Crown Prince of Norway (representing the King of Norway)
Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Oman (representing the Sultan of Oman)
The Crown Prince of Qatar (representing the Emir of Qatar)
Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Minister of Defence of Saudi Arabia (representing the King of Saudi Arabia)
Prince Saud bin Faisal Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia
The King and Queen of Spain
The Prince of Asturias
The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Crown Prince of Dubai (representing the President of the United Arab Emirates)
The Prince of Wales (representing the Queen of the United Kingdom)
Heads of state and government
Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh
Mathieu Kérékou, President of Benin
Blaise Compaoré, President of Burkina Faso
Paul Biya, President of Cameroon
Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea
Jacques Chirac, President of France, and Bernadette Chirac
Yahya Jammeh, President of The Gambia
Johannes Rau, President of Germany
Lansana Conté, President of Guinea
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, President of Italy
Henri Konan Bédié, President of Ivory Coast
Émile Lahoud, President of Lebanon
Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, President of Mauritania
Olusegun Obasanjo, President of Nigeria
Muhammad Rafiq Tarar, President of Pakistan
Yasser Arafat, President of the Palestinian National Authority
Aleksander Kwaśniewski, President of Poland
Jorge Sampaio, President of Portugal
Abdou Diouf, President of Senegal
Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa
José María Aznar, Prime Minister of Spain
Ruth Dreifuss, President of the Swiss Confederation
Gnassingbé Eyadéma, President of Togo
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, President of Tunisia
Süleyman Demirel, President of Turkey
Ali Abdullah Saleh, President of Yemen
Other governmental representatives
Louis Michel, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium
Roméo LeBlanc, Governor General of Canada
Hassan Habibi, First Vice President of Iran
Taha Yassin Ramadan, Vice President of Iraq (representing the President of Iraq)
Ryutaro Hashimoto, former Prime Minister of Japan
General Khweldi Hameidi, member of the Revolutionary Command Council of Libya
Knut Vollebæk, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway
Yegor Stroyev, Chairman of the Federation Council of Russia (representing the President of Russia)
Mohammed Zuhair Masharqa, Vice President of Syria (representing the President of Syria)
Robin Cook, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom
Delegations
Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of Algeria
Smail Hamdani, Prime Minister of Algeria
Ezer Weizman, President of Israel
Ehud Barak, Prime Minister of Israel
Shimon Peres, former Prime Minister of Israel (1984–1986; 1995–1996)
Bill Clinton, President of the United States, and First Lady Hillary Clinton
Chelsea Clinton, daughter of President Clinton
George H. W. Bush, former President of the United States (1989–1993)
Sandy Berger, National Security Advisor
Benjamin Gilman, chairman of the House International Relations Committee
Warren Christopher, former U.S. Secretary of State (1993–1997)
James Baker, former U.S. Secretary of State (1989–1992)
International organisations
Ahmed Asmat Abdel-Meguid, Secretary-General of the Arab League
Miguel Ángel Moratinos, European Union Special Representative for the Middle East
Azzeddine Laraki, Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and former Prime Minister of Morocco
Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations
See also
Death and state funeral of Hussein of Jordan, which occurred over five months earlier
References
1999 in Morocco
July 1999 events in Africa
Hassan II
Hassan II