LIBERIA: A 67-year-old grandmother has been sworn in as president of Liberia, making her Africa's first elected woman head of state.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf promised her war-weary people that she would draw a line under 14 years of coups and conflict to begin rebuilding a country proudly known as Africa's oldest republic.
The former World Bank economist said maintaining peace, law and order would be her priorities.
US first lady Laura Bush and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice were among the guests who gathered in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, yesterday in a show of Washington's support for the incoming president.
Waves of cheers and ululations greeted the swearing in of Mrs Johnson Sirleaf during a ceremony that mixed traditional drumming with Western-style political procedure.
In her inaugural address, she said: "We know that your vote was a vote for change, a vote for peace, a vote for security . . . and we have heard you."
Restoring electricity to the battle-scarred capital and putting Liberians back to work, she continued, would be the priorities for her first 150 days.
Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria were among the African heads of state who sat on white plastic garden furniture arranged outside Monrovia's capitol building.
The seat of government is a reflection of Liberia's origins as a colony for freed American slaves.
Thousands of Liberians packed into the grounds, which were decked out with red, white and blue bunting for the occasion. The garden party atmosphere and the ceremony's location are a fitting reminder of how far the country has already come.
Little more than two years ago the cherry trees and neat lawns were the scene of fierce gun battles as rival militias vied for control of the capital. More than 200,000 people were killed in a series of civil wars between 1989 and 2003. Almost half the population of three million people were forced to flee their homes.
The cycle of violence was finally broken in 2003 when president Charles Taylor - who came to power at the head of a brutal rebel army - accepted refuge in Nigeria as another wave of insurgents pressed in on the capital.
Mrs Johnson Sirleaf beat George Weah, the former international footballer, in a presidential run-off last November to take power in a continent traditionally dominated by male politicians.
Today Liberia is at peace, thanks in part to 15,000 United Nations troops - including a rapid reaction force of about 430 Irish soldiers.
Now the challenge for Mrs Johnson Sirleaf is to maintain that peace. To do that she must contend with senators who include reminders of the country's bloody past. Among them is Prince Johnson, a former rebel commander turned born-again preacher, who oversaw the execution of the 20th president, Samuel Doe, in 1990.
The stakes could not be higher.
In a report published to coincide with yesterday's inauguration, the International Crisis Group, a pressure group working to avoid conflict, said the success of Liberia's transition to democracy was crucial to the region as a whole.
"If Liberia slides back towards instability, it will again threaten its neighbours," it concluded. "Everything is aligned for potential success but the situation, as shown by the post-election riots, remains fragile."
One of Mrs Johnson Sirleaf's first tasks will be to find work for the country's 100,000 former fighters who have laid down their arms. That will mean putting up the funding for education programmes or to pay for public works.
"This is the sector that has to be a priority," said one analyst. "These are the people who have rioted in the past and who, if they don't see fast enough progress, could give up on the whole process and take up arms again."
It will be a struggle for the country's tiny economy, where only one person in five is employed.
There is plenty of work to be done. The years of civil war have left Monrovia with an air of decay. The city has no running water or electricity.
Average life expectancy is 47 and 80 per cent of the population is unemployed.
Toga Nimely, a civil servant who attended the inauguration, summed up the feelings of many when he said he was optimistic after hearing Mrs Johnson Sirleaf's speech.
"We have been through such a long, dark period that we are all ready for change," he said. "She is the right person to do that for us."