The personalities, who are entitled to be buried in the state cemetery are, according to law, state presidents and commanders of the War of Independence only. In November 2006, an act of parliament extended the list of persons to prime ministers and speakers of the parliament to enable the burial of former Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit in the state cemetery, who died on November 5, 2006. In January 2020, all parties agreed for burial of Rahşan Ecevit into the state cemetery, making her first civillian to be buried.[2]