Michelle Bachelet was sworn in as Chile's first female president on Saturday in the country's coastal city of Valparaiso, home to the congress.

Bachelet took her oath before Senate President Eduardo Frei at the crowded Hall of Honor of Chile's congress in Valparaiso. Amid thundering applause, she took over the white, blue and red presidential sash from Frei.

Representatives of 120 countries attended the inauguration, including U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the special envoy of the Chinese government, Agriculture Minister Du Qinglin.

Bachelet told thousands of cheering Chileans, "I shall keep my word, I shall tell you what I think and I shall do what I say. I give you my word as a woman."

Bachelet, 54-year-old former health and defense minister, was elected on Jan. 15 for a four-year term in a runoff to succeed Ricardo Lagos Escobar.

She was expected to continue fiscal discipline and free-market economic policies of Lagos.

Source: Xinhua