What person will make a national mourning when they die?
March 7, 2025
Which person will make your country going into mourning that isn't a monarch (so forced mourning ) .
Here in the uk it'd be David Attenborough I think we'd probs have a yearly month long holiday
28 comments
David Attenborough will most likely send the entire western civilization into mourning when he dies. In Norway I can’t think of an obvious answer. Maybe Jens Stoltenberg? He is a very well liked poltician almost regardless of what political party you support.
Do you think the queen was a forced mourning?
Maybe over blown, but probably not too out of proportions
For me ? Michael D Higgins. A true scholar and gentleman who represents me and my people so very well.
When I was a young boy and he was in local politics he helped my mother who was a single parent. I’ll never forget it.
Last week, Dieuwertje Blok died. For decades, she hosted the Sinterklaas Journaal, a ‘news program’ about the stuggles of Saint Nicholas and his helpers. It’s entertaining for children and has a layer of jokes and satire on current events for the adults.
She was a bit of a national mom, ensuring us that, even if times seemed hopeless for Sinterklaas and his entourage, it’ll all turn out well in the end. Rest in peace, Dieuwertje.
Idk their name yet, but surely it will be some activist/political opponent of current government.
Last time we had national mourning, it was when young journalist and his fiance were assasinated. For investigating organized crime network directly connected to Fico.
She’s already gone, unfortunately, but Astrid Lindgren is still mourned. Still living is harder, but our crown princess, Victoria, is generally very well-liked and her dad is a VERY memeable king. Anyway, she married her personal trainer, and gym owner, making a man of the people a crown prince… and she’ll look fucking GREAT on coins, with that sharp profile! I think that she’ll be mourned by most of the nation, when she passes.
Thomas Brezina, maybe? He’s a hella famous children’s author and probably every <40 year old grew up with at least one of his stories. I’m not saying that his death will have an official mourning period like the Queen did, but for many people it may be so in private life.
Maybe Armin Maiwald and Christoph Biemann. They are THE faces of the kids education show “Die Sendung mit der Maus” which runs since 1971 and is beloved by many Germans. Armin was also one of the founders ot the show and is already 85 years old. Christoph is part of the show since 1983, 72 years old and everyone knows him with his green sweater.
The death of Franz Beckenbauer last year was just that for Germany. I think Michael Schumacher’s accident also affected many in the country. Outside of sports, I don’t think we have anybody alive that is universally admired across generations and social groups.
I think when Ozzy Osbourne and Keith Richards go it won’t be so much a national mourning, but a collective sigh of realisation that nobody is immortal after all.
It’s hard to think of someone but Maryla Rodowicz maybe? She’s 79. She was/is a singer, popular amongst the older generation and a walking meme for the younger generation, appreciatted in some circles and a butt of jokes in others. It won’t be “omg, I’m so sorry that she died, let me cry a bit” like the death of John Paul the Second was, but it’ll feel like an end of an era.
Another might be Adam Małysz, a ski jumper, univerally loved, but he’s only 47, so hopefully not dying for the next 30-40 years.
Edit: we don’t have a David Attenborough but we do have Krystyna Czubówna, whose voice entire generations grew up on, and she’s not controversial. She’s 71 so again, hopefully has some years ahead of her, but if she passed now, I think people would lowkey mourn.
Edit2: there’s also Jurek Owsiak only at 71, a journalist, the main force behind Poland’s biggest charity drive and the founder of Poland’s biggest summer festival. He’s genuinely admired by most Poles and people would probably genuinely mourn his passing. However, he’s thought of and spoken of as an enemy by the right-wing politicians and a victim of smear campaigns, so he’s not universally loved.
Queen Margrethe II. Even though national mourning of course will be mandated as she is previous regent, then even if she wasn’t, she would warrant one.
She is such an amazing woman; strong, intelligent, a superb diplomat, artist and historically interested (she made several documentaries with public tv).
A symbol of freedom for many (born April 16th 1940) and a gathering force and Mom for generations of Danes.
Billy Connolly.
Folk love to criticise him for abandonning his working class roots after several decades of being a hugely successful comedian, for not being funny any more since he’s had Parkinson’s disease, and for living abroad, but he recently made a comment about how he’d like to die in Scotland.
That made us realise that he is mortal, that some day we’ll have to stand up as a nation, do some kind of salute and sing ‘The Welly Boot Song’ very very slowly. That’ll hurt.
Not gonna mourn Spain’s ex-King Juan Carlos when he goes, but I’ll be confused when I hear about his death, because I keep forgetting he isn’t dead already – he just moved to Saudi Arabia to evade charges for massive tax fraud.
Mike Jagger, Paul McCartney, Michel Drucker, Patrick Sebastien, Giorgio Armani, Donatella Versace, Jean Reno
In Poland:
– Universally – Lech Wałęsa;
– PiS instilled – Jarosław Kaczyński;
– Most parties other than PiS – Donald Tusk;
– Probably all of Poland on Szczecin’s behalf – Gacek;
I don’t actually know for Finland. I feel the last famous person I was upset about from Finland was Tove Jansson. A lot of my happiest memories as a kid were centered around Moomins, whether the show or books, my uncle reading them to me and my family to this day still nickname me after Snufkin (in Finnish of course, but I imagine everyone else knows him by Snufkin at least than our name). I still play the old Muumilaakson Tarinoita show or Tove Jansson reading the books on Spotify when I can’t sleep.
I can’t think of anyone in Finland now that would make me feel that upset, so I’ll leave that for other Finns to answer. The only person off hand I can think of that might get an “aw that sucks” is Sauli Niinistö or Kimi Räikkönen maybe?
Anytime I pass through Liverpool Lime St station, it crosses my mind that it will sooner than later be renamed Sir Paul McCartney station.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
I know this one is tricky because he is now a USA citizen but for many Europeans he is still a great example of the American dream.
Polo Hofer died in 2017. He was regarded as a Swiss music legend.
Maybe Alex Eugster, the last surviving member of Trio Eugster. He’s currently 87.
The death of Kim Larsen a few years back was probably the closest thing to nationwide mourning we’ve had. Spontaneous torch parade, massive public memorial concert featuring pretty much every danish musician who matters, wall-to-wall tv coverage… it was huge.
[removed]
Probably Ramalho Eanes since he was our first president in democracy.
Other than him, I actually don’t know. Probably Cristiano Ronaldo if he dies prematurely.
I don’t see anyone.
In politics, we don’t like anyone. Elena Lasconi is good, but she ain’t even a president yet and she might not even be. The fate will be decided in May.
Besides that, I can’t think of anyone. Maybe a singer like Andra Măruță? But I’m not sure.
Edit: OK, I think I know who. Gheorghe Hagi will definitely be huge. We already somewhat mourned the death of Dukadam, the Hero of Sevilla that let Steaua București take home a trophy back in 1900’s
Another one is Simona Halep, she’s still young, but whenever it will happen, it will be a rainy day
And last one Nadia Comăneci.
All athletes. We don’t have much to be proud of our country besides them. Especially football and swimming quite recently.
Árpád Göncz has already passed away, but he’s not only famous for his presidency, but also his writings and translations (eg. The Lord of the Rings).
When Vytautas Kernagis died, that was a huge deal, he was a beloved author and singer, genuinely nice guy. A massive crowd attended his funeral, thousands of people, because he was such a positive, lovely, friendly guy. Taken by cancer at just 57 years of age.
Now the two closest ones are Valdas Adamkus, amazing president that we’ve had who was in power when we joined EU and NATO. It was a huge deal back in 2004, it paved the way for further development of Lithuania. He’s 98 years old.
The other one is Vytautas Landsbergis, the first head of state after we regained independence in 1991, he’s done so much to make Lithuania into what it is right now, a reasonably decent, western country. His health is deteriorating, but he still occasionally posts a poem on facebook. He’s 92 years old.
King Charles. He’s been bullied a lot, but was actually one of the first to speak about healthy food and farming, when no one knew what on earth he was talking about.
28 comments
David Attenborough will most likely send the entire western civilization into mourning when he dies. In Norway I can’t think of an obvious answer. Maybe Jens Stoltenberg? He is a very well liked poltician almost regardless of what political party you support.
Do you think the queen was a forced mourning?
Maybe over blown, but probably not too out of proportions
For me ? Michael D Higgins. A true scholar and gentleman who represents me and my people so very well.
When I was a young boy and he was in local politics he helped my mother who was a single parent. I’ll never forget it.
Last week, Dieuwertje Blok died. For decades, she hosted the Sinterklaas Journaal, a ‘news program’ about the stuggles of Saint Nicholas and his helpers. It’s entertaining for children and has a layer of jokes and satire on current events for the adults.
She was a bit of a national mom, ensuring us that, even if times seemed hopeless for Sinterklaas and his entourage, it’ll all turn out well in the end. Rest in peace, Dieuwertje.
Idk their name yet, but surely it will be some activist/political opponent of current government.
Last time we had national mourning, it was when young journalist and his fiance were assasinated. For investigating organized crime network directly connected to Fico.
She’s already gone, unfortunately, but Astrid Lindgren is still mourned. Still living is harder, but our crown princess, Victoria, is generally very well-liked and her dad is a VERY memeable king. Anyway, she married her personal trainer, and gym owner, making a man of the people a crown prince… and she’ll look fucking GREAT on coins, with that sharp profile! I think that she’ll be mourned by most of the nation, when she passes.
Thomas Brezina, maybe? He’s a hella famous children’s author and probably every <40 year old grew up with at least one of his stories. I’m not saying that his death will have an official mourning period like the Queen did, but for many people it may be so in private life.
Maybe Armin Maiwald and Christoph Biemann. They are THE faces of the kids education show “Die Sendung mit der Maus” which runs since 1971 and is beloved by many Germans. Armin was also one of the founders ot the show and is already 85 years old. Christoph is part of the show since 1983, 72 years old and everyone knows him with his green sweater.
The death of Franz Beckenbauer last year was just that for Germany. I think Michael Schumacher’s accident also affected many in the country. Outside of sports, I don’t think we have anybody alive that is universally admired across generations and social groups.
I think when Ozzy Osbourne and Keith Richards go it won’t be so much a national mourning, but a collective sigh of realisation that nobody is immortal after all.
It’s hard to think of someone but Maryla Rodowicz maybe? She’s 79. She was/is a singer, popular amongst the older generation and a walking meme for the younger generation, appreciatted in some circles and a butt of jokes in others. It won’t be “omg, I’m so sorry that she died, let me cry a bit” like the death of John Paul the Second was, but it’ll feel like an end of an era.
Another might be Adam Małysz, a ski jumper, univerally loved, but he’s only 47, so hopefully not dying for the next 30-40 years.
Edit: we don’t have a David Attenborough but we do have Krystyna Czubówna, whose voice entire generations grew up on, and she’s not controversial. She’s 71 so again, hopefully has some years ahead of her, but if she passed now, I think people would lowkey mourn.
Edit2: there’s also Jurek Owsiak only at 71, a journalist, the main force behind Poland’s biggest charity drive and the founder of Poland’s biggest summer festival. He’s genuinely admired by most Poles and people would probably genuinely mourn his passing. However, he’s thought of and spoken of as an enemy by the right-wing politicians and a victim of smear campaigns, so he’s not universally loved.
Queen Margrethe II. Even though national mourning of course will be mandated as she is previous regent, then even if she wasn’t, she would warrant one.
She is such an amazing woman; strong, intelligent, a superb diplomat, artist and historically interested (she made several documentaries with public tv).
A symbol of freedom for many (born April 16th 1940) and a gathering force and Mom for generations of Danes.
Billy Connolly.
Folk love to criticise him for abandonning his working class roots after several decades of being a hugely successful comedian, for not being funny any more since he’s had Parkinson’s disease, and for living abroad, but he recently made a comment about how he’d like to die in Scotland.
That made us realise that he is mortal, that some day we’ll have to stand up as a nation, do some kind of salute and sing ‘The Welly Boot Song’ very very slowly. That’ll hurt.
Not gonna mourn Spain’s ex-King Juan Carlos when he goes, but I’ll be confused when I hear about his death, because I keep forgetting he isn’t dead already – he just moved to Saudi Arabia to evade charges for massive tax fraud.
Mike Jagger, Paul McCartney, Michel Drucker, Patrick Sebastien, Giorgio Armani, Donatella Versace, Jean Reno
In Poland:
– Universally – Lech Wałęsa;
– PiS instilled – Jarosław Kaczyński;
– Most parties other than PiS – Donald Tusk;
– Probably all of Poland on Szczecin’s behalf – Gacek;
I don’t actually know for Finland. I feel the last famous person I was upset about from Finland was Tove Jansson. A lot of my happiest memories as a kid were centered around Moomins, whether the show or books, my uncle reading them to me and my family to this day still nickname me after Snufkin (in Finnish of course, but I imagine everyone else knows him by Snufkin at least than our name). I still play the old Muumilaakson Tarinoita show or Tove Jansson reading the books on Spotify when I can’t sleep.
I can’t think of anyone in Finland now that would make me feel that upset, so I’ll leave that for other Finns to answer. The only person off hand I can think of that might get an “aw that sucks” is Sauli Niinistö or Kimi Räikkönen maybe?
Anytime I pass through Liverpool Lime St station, it crosses my mind that it will sooner than later be renamed Sir Paul McCartney station.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
I know this one is tricky because he is now a USA citizen but for many Europeans he is still a great example of the American dream.
Polo Hofer died in 2017. He was regarded as a Swiss music legend.
Maybe Alex Eugster, the last surviving member of Trio Eugster. He’s currently 87.
The death of Kim Larsen a few years back was probably the closest thing to nationwide mourning we’ve had. Spontaneous torch parade, massive public memorial concert featuring pretty much every danish musician who matters, wall-to-wall tv coverage… it was huge.
[removed]
Probably Ramalho Eanes since he was our first president in democracy.
Other than him, I actually don’t know. Probably Cristiano Ronaldo if he dies prematurely.
I don’t see anyone.
In politics, we don’t like anyone. Elena Lasconi is good, but she ain’t even a president yet and she might not even be. The fate will be decided in May.
Besides that, I can’t think of anyone. Maybe a singer like Andra Măruță? But I’m not sure.
Edit: OK, I think I know who. Gheorghe Hagi will definitely be huge. We already somewhat mourned the death of Dukadam, the Hero of Sevilla that let Steaua București take home a trophy back in 1900’s
Another one is Simona Halep, she’s still young, but whenever it will happen, it will be a rainy day
And last one Nadia Comăneci.
All athletes. We don’t have much to be proud of our country besides them. Especially football and swimming quite recently.
Árpád Göncz has already passed away, but he’s not only famous for his presidency, but also his writings and translations (eg. The Lord of the Rings).
When Vytautas Kernagis died, that was a huge deal, he was a beloved author and singer, genuinely nice guy. A massive crowd attended his funeral, thousands of people, because he was such a positive, lovely, friendly guy. Taken by cancer at just 57 years of age.
Now the two closest ones are Valdas Adamkus, amazing president that we’ve had who was in power when we joined EU and NATO. It was a huge deal back in 2004, it paved the way for further development of Lithuania. He’s 98 years old.
The other one is Vytautas Landsbergis, the first head of state after we regained independence in 1991, he’s done so much to make Lithuania into what it is right now, a reasonably decent, western country. His health is deteriorating, but he still occasionally posts a poem on facebook. He’s 92 years old.
King Charles. He’s been bullied a lot, but was actually one of the first to speak about healthy food and farming, when no one knew what on earth he was talking about.
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/03/03/the-sustainable-farm-beloved-by-king-charles-farmed-in-the-cotswolds.html
I don’t think we have one at the moment.
Mary Robinson (first woman president) MIGHT have become that person but it never panned out that way.