消息证实Sweden's foreign minister dies after attack

	By Christopher Brown-Humes in Stockholm Published: September 10 2003 19:20 | Last Updated: September 11 2003 8:36 Anna Lindh, Sweden's foreign minister, died on Thursday morning after being repeatedly stabbed by an unknown assailant while shopping in Stockholm on Wednesday. Her death casts a huge pall over the country's planned euro referendum on Sunday. Campaigning has already been suspended, and it is possible that the vote will be postponed. Party leaders will discuss the issue on Thursday morning. Ms Lindh died at 5.29am local time, after suffering a massive loss of blood and severe liver damage. Doctors had battled for 10 hours to save her. A shocked Göran Persson, prime minister, paid tribute to her skills, her knowledge, and her commitment to international issues. "She was engaged, quick-thinking and straight to the point. She was our face to the outside world," he said. Popular, admired, and respected, she was widely seen as Mr Persson's most likely successor. "It's unreal. It's hard to fully understand," he added. Ms Lindh, 46, leaves a husband and two children. Her attacker has not been caught. Her death comes 17 years after Olof Palme, Sweden's then prime minister, was murdered in the streets of Stockholm while returning home with his wife from a cinema visit. Ms Lindh did not have a bodyguard at the time of the attack, which took place in an exclusive department store in central Stockholm. [ Last edited by rabbita on 2003-9-11 at 05:59 PM ]