Swedes mourn murdered minister

Many have been shocked by the attack on the popular politician

Sweden is mourning and paying tribute to Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, who died on Thursday after being stabbed by an unidentified man while shopping.

Outside the Stockholm department store where she was attacked, people placed flowers on the pavement and stopped to pay respects.

With national flags flying at half-mast, the Swedish parliament held a moment of silence. A special service was held in Uppsala cathedral on Thursday night.

Political leaders around the world have also paid tribute to Lindh - a leading campaigner for Sweden to join the euro.

But Prime Minister Goran Persson announced Sunday's referendum would go ahead as planned, because to do anything else would be to give in to violence.

Sweden has lost one of its most important representatives PM Goran Persson Anna Lindh: Your tributes Political leaders mourn Lindh

The motive for the killing - in which Lindh sustained knife injuries to the chest, stomach and arms - is not known, and her attacker remains at large.

Her death has shocked a nation that has long prided itself on the accessibility of its politicians; like many officials, she did not use a bodyguard.

There was a special commemorative church sermon in Stockholm's main church on Thursday night.

And, on Friday, Mr Persson is due to lead a march against violence in the capital.

Lindh's killing has also stirred memories of the murder of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, who was shot in the back as he walked home from the cinema with his son and his wife in 1986.

Police hunt suspect

An active politician since her early twenties, her meteoric rise in the ruling Social Democratic Party, and her solid reputation led her to be widely tipped as a possible successor to Mr Persson.

Lindh: Foreign Minister since 1998

He described her death as "beyond belief" and said it had hurt Sweden's open and democratic society.

"Sweden has lost one of its most important representatives," he added. "It feels unreal, it is difficult to truly understand." Lindh, who had severe internal bleeding with liver and stomach injuries, died after more than 10 hours of surgery at Karolinska Hospital.

In the wake of the stabbing, both the Yes and No campaigns in the Swedish euro referendum suspended their activities.

Polls have consistently indicated that the No camp will win, though correspondents say Lindh's death could now boost the Yes vote.

Lindh had been shopping unaccompanied by bodyguards when the attack took place at about 1600 local time (1400GMT) on Wednesday.

Mystery motive

"She lay on the floor and it looked as if a tall man, wearing a peaked cap, was hitting her," eyewitness Hanna Sundberg said.

"But when he ran away, he threw away a knife."

Witness: 'Blood everywhere' Media voices anger and grief

Police are searching for a man wearing a camouflage jacket who fled from the store.

Security has been tightened around government buildings, but police said there was as yet no evidence of a political motive.

Lindh, 46, had been foreign minister since 1998. She was married with two children.

At times outspoken, she argued forcefully in EU forums on human rights.

She called President George W Bush a "lone ranger" for going to war in Iraq and she criticised Italy's current EU presidency, saying that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi did not enjoy wide support.

Christian Democratic leader Alf Svensson said he was "at a loss for words to describe the sorrow and anger" he felt at the news of Lindh's death.