SINGAPORE, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) — Singapore held state funeral for former president S R Nathan on Friday, as thousands of Singaporeans gathered to pay their last respects to the country's sixth and longest-serving president.

A state funeral procession started at 2:00 p.m. when a gun carriage carrying Nathan's flag-draped coffin left the Parliament House, where the former president had lain in state.

The procession passed landmarks of significance to the late president, such as City Hall, Fullerton Hotel and NTUC Center, en route to the University Cultural Center (UCC), National University of Singapore, where the funeral service was held.

Family members of the late president, Singapore's President Tony Tan Keng Yam, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, other leaders as well as the judiciary and diplomatic corps attended the service at UCC.

Lee Hsien Loong spoke highly of Nathan's contribution to Singapore in the eulogy, saying the late president witnessed many of the key events that shaped Singapore. He called Nathan "one of Singapore's greatest sons."

Nathan suffered a stroke on July 31, and was "in critical condition" in the Intensive Care Unit at Singapore General Hospital before he passed away peacefully on Monday at the age of 92.

The former president was in office for two terms from 1999 to 2011.