Former German president receives state funeral

Berlin: German and foreign dignitaries yesterday attended a state funeral for former President Johannes Rau, who died more than a week ago aged 75.

Some 1,500 guests attended the ceremony in the Berliner Dom cathedral as flags around the country were lowered to half mast. Rau was to be buried afterward in Berlin after a small private ceremony.

Lutheran Bishop Wolfgang Huber paid tribute to Rau, a member of the Social Democratic Party who was president from 1999-2004, and said his championing of tolerance and justice was rooted in his Christian convictions.

Rau, who died after years of poor health, always had "an eye for people of the most diverse backgrounds, an open heart for everyone," Huber said before guests including Chancellor Angela Merkel, Austrian President Wolfgang Schuessel and Rau's wife and three children.