Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, January 26, 2004
Georgia's Saakashvili sworn in as new president
Mikhail Saakashvili, who won an overwhelming victory in the Jan. 4 Georgian presidential election,was officially sworn in on Sunday in the country's parliament in the capital of Tbilisi, Russian news agencies reported.
Mikhail Saakashvili, who won an overwhelming victory in the Jan. 4 Georgian presidential election,was officially sworn in on Sunday in the country's parliament in the capital of Tbilisi, Russian news agencies reported.
Saakashvili, a 36-year-old United States-educated lawyer, who led a mass protest that forced veteran President Eduard Shevardnadze to resign in late last November, became Georgia's third president. He got more than 96 percent of the votes in the poll.
Early Sunday, Saakashvili attended a military parade in the capital of Georgia's semi-autonomous region of Adjara and met withits leader Aslan Abashidze. He also attended a parade in the western coastal town of Poti.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Russian Foreign MinisterIgor Ivanov as well as other foreign officials attended the inauguration ceremony.