Republic Day across the World

March 23rd in Pakistan :

March 23rd commemorates the date Qarardad-e-Pakistan was approved in Lahore in 1940 and Pakistan became the first Islamic Republic in the world (1956). Therefore Queen Elizabeth II was the last ruler of Pakistan, having ruled for just over four years as head of state until the Islamic declaration. It is celebrated with parades in Islamabad that involve both military contingents, such as the Pakistan Armed Forces and Pakistan Paramilitary Forces, as well as civilian ones.

May 28 in Armenia and Azerbaijan :

In May 28, 1918 Armenia and Azerbaijan declared independence from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, thus forming Democratic Republic of Armenia and Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. It was the first sovereign republic in the history of both countries and the first sovereign state ever for Azerbaijan). However the holiday was not celebrated during Soviet times, and it only achieved consistency after the collapse of the USSR.

May 31st in South Africa (1961-1994) : Between 1961 and 1994, May 31 was celebrated in South Africa as Republic Day. This practice was discontinued in 1995 following the attainment of majority rule and the reorganisation of public holidays as a consequence. On the last Republic Day, in 1994, South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth of Nations.

June 2nd in Italy :

The Festa della Repubblica is celebrated on the second day of June, and it commemorates the institutional referendum of 1946 when (by universal suffrage) the Italian population was called to decide what form of government (monarchy or republic) to give to the country after the second world war and the fall of Fascism.

After 85 years of monarchy, with 12,717,923 votes for and 10,719,284 votes against, Italy became a Republic, and the monarchs of the House of Savoy were deposed and exiled. This is one of the most important Italian public holidays which, like July 14th in France and July 4th in the USA, celebrates the birth of the nation. A grand military parade is held in central Rome.

September 24th in Trinidad and Tobago :

Trinidad and Tobago celebrates Republic Day on the September 24. Trinidad and Tobago became a republic on August 1, 1976, fourteen years after independence from the United Kingdom. Since that day was already a holiday (Discovery Day, now replaced by Emancipation Day), the holiday was placed on the birthday of the then Prime Minister, Eric Williams, although it was officially the date of the first meeting of Parliament under the republican constitution. The holiday was abolished in 1996 to make way for Spiritual Baptist/Shouter Liberation Day, but was reinstated in 2002.

October 5th in Portugal :

October 5 in Portugal is known as "Implantation of the Republic" (Portuguese: Implantação da República). It commemorates the proclamation of the Portuguese First Republic in 1910.

October 10th in Republic of China :

October 10 in Taiwan is a national holiday commemorating the establishment of the Republic of China in 1931, the symbolic start of the Chinese revolution with the Wuchang uprising.

October 24th in Rhodesia (1970-1979) :

Although the government of Ian Smith declared Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) a republic on March 2, 1970, it was officially commemorated on October 24. Following independence in 1980, the holiday was abolished.

October 25th in Kazakhstan :

In the waning days of Soviet rule, individual republics of the Soviet Union sought greater autonomy. The Soviet Union agreed in early 1990 to give up its monopoly of political power. Following the lead of Lithuanian SSR, Russian SFSR and others, Kazakh SSR declared its sovereignty on October 25, 1990, and Kazakhstan subsequently became independent on December 16, 1991 as the Soviet Union collapsed. October 25, the anniversary of the adoption of the "Declaration on State Sovereignty of Kazakh SSR" by the Kazakh legislature in 1990, is now commemorated as Republic Day (Kazakh), a public holiday in Kazakhstan.

October 29th in Turkey :

On October 29, 1923, the Turkish constitution was amended and Turkey became a republic. This formally declared the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. Republic Day is celebrated throughout Turkey every year. Commemorative events usually begin in the afternoon on the previous day.

November 29th in former Yugoslavia (1945-1990) :

On November 29, 1943 the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia established the foundations of post-war Yugoslavia as a socialist republic, which was officially proclaimed on the same date in 1945. Republic Day (local name: Dan Republike) marked the occasion two consecutive days, November 29 and 30, and was likely the most important holiday (the other two-day holidays were New Year and May Day).

In elementary schools first graders were inducted into the Pioneer Movement on or around Republic Day. Employees merged the holiday with weekends and extra days off to form 3-, 4- or even 5-day weekends. Urban dwellers took the occasion to visit their relatives in the country, who marked the event with pig slaughter and the ensuing feast.

In 1980s, as central and Communist Party authority eroded, dissenters targeted Republic Day celebrations for criticism. In 1987 Bosnian garage rock band Zabranjeno pušenje published a song entitled Dan Republike, in which they criticized the state of the economy and protested the general indifference to the ideals behind the holiday. The band needed to change some of the lyrics before being allowed to air the song.

In 1989, Slovenia and Croatia were the first former federal republics to cease observing the holiday. Other republics followed suit as Yugoslavia dissolved.

The date "29.XI.1943" figured prominently on the Yugoslav coat of arms.

December 13th in Malta :

On December 13, 1974, the constitution of Malta was substantially revised, transforming the former British colony from a Commonwealth Realm into a republic within the Commonwealth. This occasion is marked every year as Republic Day in Malta.

Republic Day in other countries :

• Armenia: May 28 (1918, see Democratic Republic of Armenia)
• Azerbaijan: May 28 (1918, see Azerbaijan Democratic Republic)
• Portugal: November 15 (1991)- Joo's Birthday.
• Burkina Faso: December 11 (1958, Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French Community.)
• East Germany.
• Gambia: April 24 (1970)
• Ghana: July 1 (1960)
• Guyana: February 23 (1970, also known as Mashramani)
• Iran: April 1 Islamic Republic Day
• Iraq: July 14
• Kenya: around December 12 (1963, see Jamhuri Day.)
• Lithuania: May 15 (1920, known as the Constituent Assembly Day)
• Niger: December 18 (1958)
• North Korea: September 9 (1948)