Federal Offices to Close on Friday

Closures Are Part of National Day of Mourning for Former President Reagan

President Bush announced tonight that federal offices will be closed Friday as part of the national day of mourning for former president Ronald Reagan.

In an executive order issued shortly after 8 p.m. from Sea Island, Ga., where the leaders of the G-8 industrial nations are scheduled to begin meeting Tuesday, President Bush said federal government offices "shall be closed on June 11, 2004, as a mark of respect for Ronald Reagan."

Federal offices and programs essential for national defense, homeland security and other essential business may be kept open, however, at the discretion of agency heads, the order said.

Reagan, the 40th president, died yesterday at his home in Bel Air, Calif. His funeral will be Friday here in Washington and he will be buried later that day at a site near his presidential library.