One-day National Mourning in Slovakia over Death of Kovac

Bratislava, October 6 (TASR) – The Cabinet on Thursday decided that there will be a one-day national mourning in Slovakia over the death of former Slovak president Michal Kovac.

The Government is also preparing Kovac’s funeral. Dates of the national mourning as well as of the funeral are not known yet. Prime Minister Robert Fico said that it will most likely happen on Thursday (October 13).

Kovac, 86, died of heart failure in Saint Michael’s Hospital in Bratislava on Wednesday evening (October 5).

A national mourning is declared by the incumbent government in line with the law on state symbols and their use in case of death of a president, parliamentary chairperson or prime minister. The Cabinet is also entitled to do so in case of emotional distress of the whole society that was caused by death of a person with extraordinary influence on the public life or in case of commemoration of a person that died tragically.

Slovak cabinets have so far declared a national mourning eight times. The last time they did so was on December 23, 2011 due to the death of the last Czechoslovak president Vaclav Havel