JAKARTA - PRESIDENT Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called on Indonesians to pray for former president Suharto who died on Sunday aged 86, as one week of official mourning was declared.

Mr Yudhoyono described Suharto as one of the 'nation's best sons and a great leader of the nation who has contributed so much service and dedication'.

Mr Yudhoyono said he wanted to 'express our deepest condolences at his death, and I call on all people of Indonesia to pray for the late (Suharto)'.

'I also would like to call on the people of Indonesia to show the highest respect to one of the nation's best sons, a great leader of the nation who has contributed so much service and dedication to the nation and the state,' Mr Yudhoyono told a press conference.

Mr Yudhoyono, the first directly elected president in the nation's history in 2004, then read a verse from the Quran as a solemn faced Vice President Jusuf Kalla stood behind him.

Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng told ElShinta radio that the president would lead the funeral ceremony at the Suharto family grave near Solo in Central Java on Monday.

Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi announced separately a seven-day period of mourning starting Sunday.

Suharto died after being admitted to a hospital in Jakarta with heart, lung and kidney problems some three weeks ago.

His team of doctors said Suharto had suffered multiple organ failure overnight, and had been resuscitated, but later died.

His six children had gathered at his bedside earlier Sunday in preparation for his death, a close Suharto aide said.

Suharto, who had suffered a series of illnesses in recent years, had ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for more than three decades.

A controversial leader, his success presiding over huge economic progress was overshadowed by a legacy of bloodshed, human rights abuses and corruption on a colossal scale.

He eventually stepped down in 1998 amid deadly riots and mass pro-democracy protests that were sparked by the 1997 Asian economic crisis. -- AFP