US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has paid tribute to John Hume, describing the former SDLP leader as a man of "integrity and courage".
Mr Hume, who died on Monday aged 83, will be laid to rest today following funeral Mass at Derry's St Eugene's Cathedral.
Due to restrictions relating to the Covid 19 pandemic, there will be limited numbers at the church.
The Nobel laureate's family asked those who wish to pay tribute to light a "candle for peace" last night as his remains were returned to St Eugene's.
Tributes to the former MEP, MP and MLA and SDLP founding member continued to pour in yesterday from the world.
In a statement, Mr Pompeo said there was deep sadness in the United States.
"Throughout his career, John Hume believed that just and lasting political solutions could only be achieved through peaceful means, and as a central architect of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, he worked tirelessly to make these aspirations a reality," he said.
"Mr Hume’s influence extended far beyond the shores where he lived. During the darkest days of Northern Ireland’s recent past, he won the friendship and respect of countless Americans."
The foreign minister said Mr Hume's "sustained influence" in bringing US political and economic support to the north could not be overstated.
"Many Americans who care deeply about Northern Ireland will mourn the passing of Mr Hume, and the extensive contribution that he made to build peace and to strengthen our transatlantic relations," he said.
"Our thoughts are with his wife, Pat Hume, and his family at this difficult time."
Meanwhile, former taoiseach John Bruton said he will remember Mr Hume as "the man who redefined the goals of Irish nationalism" and removed the justification for violence.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio, Mr Bruton said the former SDLP leader's arguments ensured that the IRA came to recognise that their path of violence was "a cul de sac leading nowhere".
He said that at all times, Mr Hume was an advocate of solely peaceful methods.
Baroness Eileen Paisley, the wife of former DUP leader and First Minister Ian Paisley, also said Mr Hume worked alongside her husband as an MP and MEP "for the good of Northern Ireland in general".
She told the News Letter that her late husband and Mr Hume were able to disagree without rupturing their friendship.
She expressed personal sympathy to Mr Hume’s widow Pat, who she said had been “a great supporter of John’s”.
“I know what it’s like to go through the bereavement of your husband."
She added that Mr Paisley and the former SDLP leader “had respect for one another’s beliefs, religiously and politically, and they still talked together” even when they had disputes.
"It was not nasty – it was in friendship because they had a united interest in the country and the people that they represented," she said.
When the Hume-Adams talks became public knowledge in 1993, John Hume faced severe criticism for his dialogue with the Sinn Féin leader. In the midst of a media frenzy, he found an unlikely safe haven - San Jose pic.twitter.com/nGyfzpnoH7
— BBC News NI (@BBCNewsNI) August 5, 2020
