Flags across the US were ordered lowered to half mast yesterday as world leaders past and present paid tribute to former US president Ronald Reagan, who died on Saturday aged 93.
Initial plans suggest that several days of official ceremony will culminate in a state funeral the like of which has not been seen in Washington since the death of President Lyndon Johnson in 1971.
It is expected that after lying in state at his presidential library in Simi Valley, California, Reagan's body will be flown across the country to Andrews air force base outside Washington late on Wednesday. There, it will travel by motorcade and horse-drawn carriage to the US capital for viewing.
On Friday, the day of the funeral, the procession will pause near the White House on its route to Washington's National Cathedral. Services are to be conducted by the newly appointed ambassador to the UN, Mr John Danforth, a former Republican senator who is also an ordained minister. With the G8 summit taking place in Georgia this week, several foreign dignitaries are expected to attend. Reagan's body is to be flown home immediately after the service for a sunset burial at his presidential library.
Members of his immediate family were at his bedside when he died, including his wife of 52 years, Nancy - loved ones he was no longer able to recognise or speak to because of Alzheimer's disease. The death ended a long, painful last chapter in a close marriage. Just last month, Nancy Reagan made a rare speech in which she described her husband's last days suffering from Alzheimer's. "Ronnie's long journey has finally taken him to a distant place, where I can no longer reach him," she said, urging support for stem-cell research to help cure Alzheimer's.
President George Bush yesterday said he was a courageous leader who served the cause of freedom. Speaking at a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, Mr Bush said he was honoured to be following in the footsteps of his predecessor. "He was a courageous man himself and a gallant leader in the cause of freedom. And today we honour the memory of Ronald Reagan." Earlier, on hearing the news Mr Bush had said: "A great American life has come to an end. He leaves behind a nation he restored, and a world he helped save."
Although his politics were embedded in conservativism, even Democrats admitted they personally liked him. "Even when he was breaking Democrats hearts, he did so with a smile and in the spirit of open and honest debate," said Democratic presidential nominee, Sen John Kerry.
Former Democratic president Bill Clinton called Reagan "a true American original", who showed courage even after being stricken by a devastating illness.
One of his closest allies and friends during his terms as president, former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, expressed sadness yesterday at his death, who she described as "a truly great American hero". "He will be missed not only by those who knew him and not only by the nation he served so proudly and loved so deeply, but also by millions of men and women who live in freedom today because of the policies he pursued."
Another ally of Reagan, former German Chancellor Helmut Köhl, who stood with him as he made a historic Cold War appeal at the Berlin Wall, called the late US president a "stroke of luck" for Europe and the world.
Mr Köhl said he would never forget Reagan's famous 1987 appeal in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev: "Mr Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall."
Mr Köhl also praised Mr Reagan for visiting German war graves in Bitburg, Germany, in 1985, 40 years after the end of the second World War. "I will always hold in my memory this gesture of friendship between our countries," he said. Not all tributes were positive, however. Gen Muammar Gaddafy said yesterday he regretted Ronald Reagan had died without ever being tried for 1986 air strikes that killed dozens of people, including the Libyan leader's adopted daughter.
"I express my profound regrets over Reagan's death before he appeared before justice to be held to account for his ugly crime in 1986 against Libyan children," Gen Gaddafi told the official JANA news agency.