BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Joachim Gauck and dignitaries from around the world are gathering in Hamburg to pay tribute to former chancellor Helmut Schmidt, who died two weeks ago at age 96. A total of 1,800 guests have been invited to the state funeral Monday in Hamburg's St. Michaelis church for Schmidt, who guided West Germany through economic turbulence and Cold War tensions, stood firm against a wave of homegrown terrorism and became a respected elder statesman. In addition to Merkel, former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was to deliver an address at the church in honor of his longtime friend, who died Nov. 10. Authorities were also expecting thousands lining the streets to watch as the funeral procession takes Schmidt's body for burial in a Hamburg cemetery.