Sri Lankan Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the eighth executive president of the historically troubled South Asian island on Thursday, his office said.
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Mr Wickremesinghe had been elected head of state by Parliament the day before with support from the clan of his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who resigned last week after fleeing the country, which had been rocked by a wave of demonstrations against his power.
Mr Wickremesinghe, 73 and a six-time prime minister who has been interim president since Mr Rajapaksa fled.
He was sworn in before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya in the heavily guarded Parliamentary District, according to a statement from his office.
Sri Lanka’s Chief of Police and Army High Command stood behind the new President during his swearing-in ceremony in the presence of Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Abeywardana.
The brief ceremony was supposed to be broadcast live on local television but was inexplicably cut short just before the inauguration.
Authorities stated that an investigation into the causes of this unexpected mishap had been launched.
According to official information, the new head of state is to form a strong government of up to 30 ministers whose task it will be to lead the country out of the worst economic crisis in its history.
For months, the country of 22 million people has been suffering from long power cuts and a shortage of fuel, food and medicine.
Public anger peaked when tens of thousands of protesters stormed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s residence last week and were forced to flee and resign. Mr Wickremesinghe, then Prime Minister, was therefore forced to serve as interim President for the sixth time in his career.