By Margarita Antidze

MTSKHETA, Georgia, March 31 (Reuters) - Thousands of Georgians paid their respects on Saturday to former president Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who led Georgia to independence but was ousted in a military coup shortly afterwards.

Gamsakhurdia's body returned from Russia to his native land earlier this week and is to be buried in a pantheon in the capital Tbilisi alongside other prominent Georgians on Sunday.

Queues of people with candles, portraits of the ex-president, Georgian national flags and flowers stood outside Stetitskhoveli cathedral in Georgia's ancient capital Mtskheta, 25 km (15 miles) from the capital Tbilisi.

More crowds stood inside the cathedral, where some of Georgia's kings are buried. The coffin, covered with an old-style Georgian flag, was placed in the centre of the cathedral.

Under Gamsakhurdia's brief rule in 1990-1991, Georgia was plunged into chaos and civil war, which eventually led to two pro-Russian regions of the country breaking away from Tbilisi.

Despite the controversy, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili has praised him as a statesman and patriot and given permission for the reburial of his body.

"Zviad Gamsakhurdia made an important contribution to Georgia's struggle in gaining its independence and sovereignty," Saakashvili told reporters after attending a civil funeral in Stetitskhoveli.

The former president fled his country after the December 1991 coup but returned to fight against the new government of Eduard Shevardnadze, formerly a Soviet foreign minister.

Gamsakhurdia died in Western Georgia in December 1993 but foes and supporters still argue over whether the single fatal bullet found in his right temple was self-inflicted.

The son of a famous writer, Gamsakhurdia was a prominent dissident during Soviet rule and took power after winning a 1990 parliamentary election, the Soviet Union's first free multi-party vote.

He was elected president in May 1991 with more than 80 percent of the vote and led the country of 5 million to independence from the Soviet Union.

"It's a great day today as we finally have a chance to say good-bye to our beloved president and to bury him on his native motherland 14 years after his tragic death," said 57-year-old Nana from the town of Zugdidi, as she queued at the cathedral.

Gamsakhurdia's burial on Sunday will be his fourth.

He was initially buried in Western Georgia, but his widow moved to the Russian region of Chechnya soon afterwards and had him reburied there. But a Georgian attempt to repatriate his remains earlier this year found the grave empty.

His latest resting place was found when Russian investigators found another grave in the Chechen capital Grozny and forensic experts identified the remains as Gamsakhurdia's.

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