Jakarta, Oct 20 (IANS ) Indonesia's former army general, Prabowo Subianto, was sworn in as the country's eighth president on Sunday morning at the parliament building, succeeding Joko Widodo, who led the world's fourth most populous nation for the past decade.
Prabowo, who had been serving as defence minister, and his running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Widodo's eldest son and former mayor of Surakarta, won the 2024 presidential election held on February 14, Xinhua news agency reported.
In his inauguration speech, Prabowo pledged to serve all Indonesians. "We will prioritise the interests of the nation and state above all else," he stated in his address to the nation.
Following the ceremony, 73-year-old Prabowo and 37-year-old Gibran, Indonesia's youngest-ever vice president, will be greeted by cheering crowds as they make their way to the state palace.