World leaders bid farewell to German unifier, late chancellor Helmut Kohl
Kohl was the Chancellor who governed the federal republic for longest, holding his post for four mandates from 1982-1998, and was an artificer of German reunification following the fall of the Berlin Wall.
"All of us who came, why? Because Helmut Kohl gave us the chance to be involved in something bigger than ourselves, bigger than our terms of office, bigger than our fleeting careers," said former United States President Bill Clinton, whose own time in office (1993-2001) overlapped Kohl's role as chancellor.
Kohl's coffin, draped in a European Union flag, was laid out in the center of the European Parliament throughout the European Ceremony of Honour, which was initiated with a playing of the EU's anthem by the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra.
Khol's stature in European politics was demonstrated by the number of dignitaries who descended on Strasbourg for the ceremony and several current and former world leaders are due to pay their tributes and sign a book of condolences.
Among those to address attendees were former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
Medvedev took the occasion to note Kohl's role in advancing European-Russian cooperation and his push for peace in Europe following the Second World War and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
During her speech, Merkel paid homage to her predecessor and said: "now it is up to us to us to actually preserve and guard your legacy."
Macron said Kohl preferred to build bridges, not walls _ a reference to a common slogan being used by protesters against current US President Donald Trump's immigration policy.
There were also speeches from the leaders of the EU's institutions: Donald Tusk of the European Council, Jean-Claude Juncker of the European Commission and Antonio Tajani of the European Parliament.
Kohl jumped to the front of national politics in 1976, when he became the leader of the opposition Christian Democratic Party, and rose to Chancellor in 1982 after winning a vote of no confidence against the then-leader Helmut Schmidt of the Social Democratic Party.
A year later his post was ratified by voters and he remained there until 1998, when he was defeated by Gerhard Schroder of the SDP.
Kohl was Chancellor during the reunification of Germany, and the first elections held by the whole country in 1990 saw him win by a landslide.
He is due to be buried in the town of Speyer in Germany later on Saturday.