Former U.S. senator, presidential candidate Bob Dole to lie in state in Capitol

[December 09, 2021]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. Senator Bob Dole, a three-time Republican presidential candidate and decorated World War Two veteran, will lie in state on Thursday in the rotunda of the Capitol where he served for 36 years.

World War Two veteran and former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole attends Memorial Day services at the World War II Memorial in Washington, U.S., November 11, 2016. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

Members of Congress and other invited guests will pay their respects to Dole, who represented Kansas in the House of Representatives for eight years and then in the Senate from 1969-1996, including two stints as majority leader. He died in his sleep on Sunday at age 98 after a lung cancer diagnosis earlier this year.

Dole was awarded two Purple Hearts from the U.S. military during World War Two for wounds suffered in combat.

He sought the presidency three times and was his party's nominee in 1996 when he lost to Democratic President Bill Clinton. He was also President Gerald Ford's running mate in the 1976 election won by Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Dole's body is set to arrive on Thursday morning and will lie in state until Friday morning. He is the 33rd person to receive that honor.

No public viewing will take place because of the COVID-19 pandemic, although invited guests will be present and President Joe Biden is expected to deliver remarks, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office said.

Dole's funeral will be held on Friday at the Washington National Cathedral.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton; Editing by Scott Malone and Peter Cooney)

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