Abdul Aziz al-Hakim a pioneer, Maliki says

BAGHDAD, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Shiite leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim was a national leader and a pioneer in the post-invasion Iraq, said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Hakim died of lung cancer in Tehran on Wednesday. He led his influential Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council to play a vital role in shaping the political scene in Iraq following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, earning a political reputation at home and abroad.

World leaders offered their condolences to the Hakim family and the people of Iraq as news of his death spread.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said on Friday that the death of Hakim left a political vacuum in Iraq, while Maliki hailed the cleric as a "leader and a pioneer," the Voices of Iraq news agency reports.

Hakim's body arrived at Baghdad International Airport on Friday for his official state funeral. His body was carried from Karbala and then on to the holy Shiite city of Najaf, where he will be buried next to his brother Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, who was assassinated in 2003.

Hakim lived in exile in Iran for many years, becoming a staunch critic of the Saddam dictatorship. He served as the president of the interim Iraqi government in December 2003.

A heavy smoker, he was diagnosed with cancer in the United States in 2007. His funeral is scheduled for Saturday in Najaf.