TIL Desk/World/Bogota/ Ivan Duque has been sworn in as the Colombian President in a ceremony held on the Plaza de Bolivar here. The Conservative political newcomer, who at 42 is the youngest Colombian President ever, was elected in June after a divisive election campaign where he saw off left-wing rival Gustavo Petro.
After taking his oath, Duque, who succeeds two-term President Juan Manuel Santos, administered the oath of office to his Vice President, Marta Lucia Ramirez, the first woman in Colombia’s history to take that office.
In his inaugural address on Tuesday, the former lawyer pledged to tackle corruption and invigorate the economy and said that he wants to overcome the ideological divisions and the social fragmentation existing in the country.
“I want to govern Colombia with unbreakable values and principles, overcoming with popular dialogue, the divisions of the left and the right and the prickly feelings that invite social fracture. I want to govern Colombia with a spirit to build, never to destroy,” President Duque said.
