Ivan Duque on Tuesday officially became president of Colombia during the inauguration ceremony in Bogotá.
The ceremony took place on Bolivar square – the central square of the country. In total, the heads of 10 states and delegations of 17 other countries attended. Duke, along with his wife and three children, walked to the square along the adjacent street, accompanied by an orchestra and guard. Duke broke the protocol, approaching the invited guests standing in the square, greeting and communicating with them.
After the execution of the national anthem, Duque took the oath of the President of Colombia, after which he donned the presidential ribbon and became the new head of state.
According to the results of the second round of elections held on June 17, the 42-year-old candidate from the right-wing forces Duke won almost 54% of the vote. He became the youngest president of Colombia in the last 70 years, with only one four-year term without the right to re-election, which was abolished in 2015 under his predecessor Juan Manuel Santos.
Duque went to the elections from the Democratic Center party, whose leader, former President Alvaro Uribe, is considered an ardent opponent of earlier peace agreements with the rebel organization of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Duque himself has already stated that he does not intend to break peace agreements with the FARC.
The inauguration of the new president takes place in an atmosphere of aggravation of relations with neighboring Venezuela, whose president Nicholas Maduro accused the retired President Juan Manuel Santos of involvement in the attempted assassination attempt on him last Saturday.
Duke himself said earlier that he will not return the ambassador to Venezuela and does not recognize the government of this country.