This is a list of dignitaries at the funeral of Pope John Paul II. After the death of Pope John Paul II on April 2, 2005 in Vatican City, and before official invitations were sent by the College of Cardinals, almost 200 countries expressed interest in sending representatives to the funeral of Pope John Paul II. The funeral took place on April 8, 2005, and was the largest gathering of statesmen in history. Some of the dignitaries later attended the installation of Pope Benedict XVI on April 24, 2005.
In order to accommodate all interested parties wishing to receive a seat during the Mass of Requiem, the Holy See limited the number of members in each official diplomatic delegation to only five people, except for the Polish delegation which, being John Paul II's homeland, was allowed ten people, and the delegation from Italy. The limit did not exclude other people of any nationality from attaining individual invitations, unrelated to the individual's country's delegation: for example, the attendance of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former president of Brazil, had no connection with the Brazilian delegation. In addition to a country's official delegation, any number of government officials were permitted to attend as pilgrim travellers, remaining outside the basilica during the Mass of Requiem with the general public. For example, the United States delegation included the president and first lady, two former presidents, and the secretary of state, and they all had seats in the basilica during the Mass of Requiem. Dozens of members of the U.S. Congress attended the Mass of Requiem, congregating among the general public outside the basilica.
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List of official delegations in seating order
At the funeral, each country's dignitaries were seated alphabetically according to the French spelling of their country's name. That order is followed below.
A
B
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | Flag of Bangladesh | Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf | Food and Disaster Management Minister |
| Belgium | Flag of Belgium | Albert II Queen Paola Guy Verhofstadt Didier Reynders Herman De Croo |
King of the Belgians Queen of the Belgians Prime Minister Deputy Prime Minister President of the Lower House |
| Bolivia | Flag of Bolivia | Carlos Mesa Juan Ignacio Siles |
President of the Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina | Borislav Paravac Šefik Džaferović Bariša Čolak |
President of the Presidency President of Parliament Deputy Prime Minister |
| Brazil | Flag of Brésil | Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Marisa Letícia da Silva Renan Calheiros Severino Cavalcante Nelson Jobim |
President of the Republic First Lady President of Senate President of House of Representatives President of Supreme Court |
| Bulgaria | Georgi Parvanov | President of the Republic |
C
D
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | Flag of Danemark | Margrethe II of Denmark Henrik Anders Fogh Rasmussen |
queen prince consort prime minister |
| Dominican Republic | File:Dominican republic flag large.png | Margarita Cedeño de Fernández Alejandrina Germán Carlos Rafael Marión-Landais |
"first lady" secretary of Education ambassador to the Holy See |
E
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt | flag of Egypt | Farouk Hosni | minister of Culture |
| United Arab Emirates | flag of the United Arab Emirates | Abdullah ibn Zayed Al Nahayan | minister of Information |
| Spain | Flag of Spain | Juan Carlos I Sofía José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero Miguel Ángel Moratinos Mariano Rajoy |
king queen president of the government minister of foreign affairs leader of the opposition |
| Estonia | Arnold Rüütel | president of the Republic | |
| Ecuador | Flag of Équateur | Lucio Gutiérrez Ximena Bohórquez Patricio Zuquilanda |
president of the Republic "first lady" minister of foreign affairs |
| United States | flag des États-Unis d'Amérique | George W. Bush Laura Bush Condoleezza Rice George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton |
president "first lady" secretary of state former president former president |
F
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finland | Matti Vanhanen | prime minister | |
| France |  |
Jacques Chirac Bernadette Chirac |
president of the Republic "first lady" |
G
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghana | Flag of Ghana | John Kufuor | president of the Republic |
| Greece | Flag of Greece | Karolos Papoulias | president of the Republic |
| Guatemala | Flag of Guatemala | Óscar Berger Wendy de Berger Jorge Briz Abularach Rigoberta Menchú |
president of the Republic "first lady" minister of foreign affairs Nobel Peace Prize laureate 1992 |
| Guinea | Flag of Guinea | Sidibé Fatoumata Kaba | minister of foreign affairs |
| Equatorial Guinea | Flag of Equatorial Guinea | Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo | president of the Republic |
H
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haiti | Flag of Haïti | Gérard Latortue | prime minister |
| Honduras | Flag of Honduras | Ricardo Maduro | president of the Republic |
| Hungary | Flag of Hungary | Ferenc Mádl Dalma Mádl Ferenc Gyurcsány Viktor Orbán Katalin Szili |
president of the Republic "first lady" prime minister former prime minister president of parliament |
I
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| India |  |
Bhairon Singh Shekhawat | Vice President of India |
| Indonesia |  |
Maftuh Basyuni Freddy Numberi Alwi Shihab |
minister of religious affairs minister of fisheries and maritime affairs minister for people's welfare |
| Iran | Flag of Iran | Mohammad Khatami | President of Iran |
| Republic of Ireland | Flag of Irlande | Mary McAleese Bertie Ahern Mary Harney |
President of Ireland Prime minister of Ireland Deputy prime minister |
| Israel | Flag of Israël | Moshe Katsav Silvan Shalom |
President of Israel deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs |
| Italy | Flag of Italie | Carlo Azeglio Ciampi Franca Ciampi Silvio Berlusconi |
President of Italy "first lady" Prime minister of Italy |
J
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | .png){kind=small} |
Yoriko Kawaguchi | advisor to the prime minister |
| Jordan | Flag of Jordan | Abdullah II Queen Rania |
king queen |
K
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya | Flag of Kenya | Chirau Ali Makwere | minister of foreign affairs |
| Kuwait | File:Kuwait flag large.png | Jaber Al Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah | member of the royal family |
L
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lesotho | Flag of Lesotho | Letsie III Monyane Moleleki |
king minister of foreign affairs |
| Latvia | Flag of Latvia | Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga | president of the Republic |
| Lebanon |  |
Emile Lahoud Omar Karami Issam Fares Nabih Berri |
president of the Republic prime minister deputy prime minister speaker of parliament |
| Liechtenstein | Flag of Liechtenstein | Hans-Adam II Princess Marie Prince Nikolaus |
prince regnant princess prince |
| Lithuania | Flag of Lithuania | Valdas Adamkus | president of the Republic |
| Luxembourg | Flag of Luxembourg | Henri Maria Teresa Jean-Claude Juncker |
grand duke grand duchess prime minister |
M
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Macedonia | Flag of Macédoine | Branko Crvenkovski | president |
| Madagascar | Marc Ravalomanana | president | |
| Malta | flag de Malta | Eddie Fenech Adami | president |
| Morocco | File:Morocco flag large.png | Moulay Rachid | prince and brother of king Muhammad VI |
| Mauritius | flag de Mauritius | Paul Bérenger | prime minister |
| Mexico | Flag of Mexico | Vicente Fox Marta Sahagún de Fox |
president of the Republic "first lady" |
| Monaco |  |
Patrick Leclercq | minister of state |
| Myanmar | Flag of Myanmar | Khin Maung Aye Charles Bo |
Ambassador Archbishop of Rangoon |
N
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicaragua | Flag of Nicaragua | Enrique Bolaños Norman José Caldera Cardenal Armando Luna José Cuadra |
president of the Republic minister of foreign affairs ambassador to the Holy See ambassador to Italy |
| Nigeria | Flag of Nigéria | Olusegun Obasanjo | president |
| Norway | Flag of Norvège | Queen Sonja Kjell Magne Bondevik |
queen prime minister |
| New Zealand | Flag of Nouvelle-Zélande | Dame Silvia Cartwright Peter Cartwright |
governor-general Spouse of governor general |
O
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uganda | Flag of Ouganda | Gilbert Bukenya | vice-president of the Republic |
P
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Q
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qatar |  |
Hamad ibn Khalifa Al Thani | emir |
R
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | Flag of Roumanie | Traian Băsescu Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu Michael of Romania Emil Constantinescu Ion Iliescu |
president of the Republic prime minister former king former president of the Republic former president of the Republic |
| United Kingdom | Flag of Royaume-Uni | Prince Charles Tony Blair Cherie Blair Michael Howard Charles Kennedy |
prince of Wales prime minister spouse of prime minister opposition leader Lib Dem leader |
| Russia | Mikhail Fradkov | prime minister | |
| Rwanda | File:Rwanda flag large.png | Charles Murigande | minister of foreign affairs |
S
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Salvador | Flag of Salvador | Francisco Laínez Ana Ligia de Saca René Figueroa Roberto Simán María Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila |
minister of foreign affairs "first lady" minister of the Interior former ambassador to the Holy See former minister of foreign affairs |
| Senegal | Flag of Sénégal | Abdoulaye Wade | president of the Republic |
| Serbie-et-Monténégro (Serbia and Montenegro) | flag de Serbia and Montenegro | Svetozar Marović Vuk Drašković Boris Tadić Filip Vujanović Ibrahim Rugova Bajram Kosumi Nexhat Daci |
president of the Republic minister of foreign affairs president of Serbia president of Montenegro president of Kosovo prime minister of Kosovo president of parlement of Kosovo |
| Slovakia | Ivan Gašparovič Pavol Hrušovský Eduard Kukan |
president of the Republic president of Parliament minister of foreign affairs | |
| Slovenia | Janez Drnovšek Janez Janša |
president of the
Republic | |
| Sri Lanka | Flag of Sri Lanka | Mahinda Rajapakse Milroy Fernando |
prime minister minister of Christian affairs |
| Sweden | Flag of Suède | Charles XVI Gustav Queen Silvia Göran Persson |
king queen prime minister |
| Switzerland | Flag of Suisse | Samuel Schmid | president of the Confederation |
| Syria | Flag of Syrie | Bashar al-Assad Asma al-Assad |
president of the Republic "first lady" |
T
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tanzania | Flag of Tanzanie | George Kahama | Minister for Cooperative Development |
| Czech Republic | Václav Klaus Cyril Svoboda |
president of the Republic minister of foreign affairs | |
| Thailand | Flag of Thaïlande | Surakiart Sathirathai | deputy prime minister |
| Tunisia | Flag of Tunisie | Mohamed Ghannouchi | prime minister |
| Turkey | Flag of Turquie | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Mehmet Aydin |
prime minister minister of state |
U
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ukraine | File:Ukraine flag large.png | Viktor Yushchenko Kateryna Yushchenko |
president "first lady" |
| Uruguay | Flag of Uruguay | María Auxiliadora Delgado de Vázquez | "first lady" |
V
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venezuela | Flag of Venezuela | Alí Rodríguez Jorge Giordanni Rodrigo Chávez Roy Chaderton |
minister of foreign affairs minister of planning ambassador to Italy ambassador to France |
Z
| Country | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zimbabwe | Flag of Zimbabwe | Robert Mugabe | president |
International organizations
| Organization | Flag | Official delegation | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Council of Europe | flag of Europe | Terry Davis Adam Daniel Rotfeld Rene van der Linden Giovanni di Stasi |
secretary-general président du Comité des ministres président de l'Assemblée parlementaire président du Congrès des pouvoirs locaux et régionaux |
| Arab League | flag of the Arab League | Amr Moussa | secretary-general |
| United Nations | .png){kind=small} |
Kofi Annan | secretary-general |
| European Union | flag of Europe | José Manuel Durão Barroso Jean-Claude Juncker Josep Borrell Danuta Hübner Franco Frattini Benita Ferrero-Waldner |
president of the European Commission president of the European Council president of the European Parliament commissioner in charge of Regional Policy commissioner in charge of Justice commissioner in charge of external relations |
| NATO | flag of NATO | Jaap de Hoop Scheffer | secretary-general |
Religious leaders
- Bartholomew I, Patriarch of Constantinople
- Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens
- Anastasios , Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës, and all Albania
- Shear-Yishuv Cohen, Chief Rabbi of Haifa
- Riccardo Di Segni, Chief Rabbi of Rome
- Dr Alison Eliot, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
- KG Hammar, Archbishop of Uppsala, Head of the Church of Sweden
- Jovan, Metropolitan of Zagreb-Ljubljana and All-Italy of the Serbian Orthodox Church
- Karekine II, Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church
- Kirill, Metropolitan of Smolensk-Kaliningrad, head of the Department of Interchurch relations of the Russian Orthodox Church
- Lavrentije, Bishop of Šabac and Valjevo of the Serbian Orthodox Church
- Leo, Archbishop of Karelia and All Finland
- Mesrob II, Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul and Turkey
- Jukka Paarma, Archbishop of Turku, Head of the Church of Finland
- Seraphim, Bishop of Ottawa, of the Orthodox Church in America
- Abune Paulos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
- Oded Viener, representing the Chief Rabbis of Israel
- Finn Wagle, Bishop of Nidaros and Primus of the Norwegian Lutheran State Church (part of Norwegian official delegation)
- Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of England and of the Anglican Communion
Unofficial delegations
A selection of dignitaries not seated in the section for official national delegations during the funeral:
Brazil
Individually invited (by the Holy See):
- Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former President of Brazil
- Itamar Franco, Brazilian Ambassador to Italy; former President of Brazil
- Father Odilo Scherer, secretary-general of the CNBB (Assembly of the Brazilian Bishops)
Presidential delegation (invited by the President, but did not seat for Mass of Requiem):
- José Sarney, Brazilian senator; former President of Brazil and former president of the Brazilian Senate
- Henry Sobel, leading Rabbi of the Brazilian Jewish community
- Sheik Armando Hussein Saleh, of the "Brazilian Mosque" (representing the Muslims of Brazil)
- Rolf Schunemann, of the Brazilian Lutheran Church (representing the Protestants of Brazil)
- Areonilthes Conceição Chagas, the most prestigious Ialorixá in the country (representing the Afro-Brazilian faiths)
- Father João Áviz, Archbishop of Brasília
- Father José Ernanne, representing the Brazilian clergy
Canada
All representing Québec
- Gérald Tremblay, Mayor of Montréal
- Louise Harel, Representative of the Parti Québécois
- Mario Dumont, Member of the National Assembly of Quebec
Philippines
- Leonida Vera, ambassador to the Holy See
- Hermilando Mandanas, Batangas congressman
United States
Members of Congress and other dignitaries (not part of the official delegation, ie. no VIP treatment):
- John Kerry, Democratic senator from Massachusetts
- Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader, Republican, from Tennessee
- Ted Kennedy, Democratic senator from Massachusetts
- White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card
- New York Governor George Pataki
- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg