Romania's former president Ion Iliescu, who died aged 95 on Tuesday, was long hailed as Romania's "little father" but faced charges over his role in the eastern European nation's chaotic transition from communism to democracy.

As a three-term president, he guided the country toward democracy, but he was called an authoritarian at heart and accused of brutality during the revolt that put him in power.

The casket carrying the body of Ion Iliescu, Romania's first elected president after the bloody fall of communism in 1989, was transferred on Wednesday from the hospital where he died to the capital's presidential palace for a state funeral as the late leader's death continues to divide opinion.