'A great minister, a great Swede'

Tributes to Anna Lindh poured in from leaders around the world. In Geneva, the United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan called Ms Lindh a "great foreign minister, a great Swede and a great European".

In Brussels, European Union ambassadors held a minute's silence during a session. EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said: "The beauty in her face was a representation of the beauty she had in her soul."

George Robertson, Nato's secretary general, said: "The world on the 11th September, with horrible irony, has lost another very substantial contributor to a better and safer world."

US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, said: "It is with great sadness that I heard the news ... her murder is a terrible blow to all who knew her."

Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, said she was "someone ... who represented something wonderful in Sweden and Europe .... She had this extraordinary ability to balance the demands of [being] one of the most active of Europe's foreign ministers ... and someone who was completely committed to her family."

His German counterpart, Joschka Fischer, said: "We have lost a great European, a great foreign minister and a great friend."