Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev him, twenty minutes before the deposition of the coffin he was asked by the Kremlin custodian Semyon Shornikov to lower the coffin simultaneously with the chime of bells. The funeral was attended by 32 heads of state, 15 heads of government, 14 foreign ministers and four princes. Among the foreign dignitaries to attend the funeral were President and General Secretary Heng Samrin of Kampuchea, Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy of France, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India, President Babrak Karmal of Afghanistan, President Fidel Castro of Cuba, Foreign Minister Huang Hua of China, Yasser Arafat of the Palestine Liberation Organization, First
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom they remain Privy Counsellors, but the Prime Minister decides which of them are summoned to meetings. The Prime Minister is responsible for producing and enforcing the Ministerial Code. By tradition, before a new Prime Minister can occupy 10 Downing Street, they are required to announce to the country and the world that they have "kissed hands" with the reigning monarch, and have thus become Prime Minister. This is usually done by saying words to the effect of: Her Majesty the Queen "[His Majesty the King]" has asked me to form a government and I have accepted. Throughout the United Kingdom,