Mohammad Morsi was officially sworn in on Saturday as Egypt’s first president since
the former president, Hosni Muberak, was forced out of office 16 months ago.
“I
swear by almighty God,” said President Morsi in an oath before Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional
Court, “that I will faithfully defend the republican system, and I will respect the
constitution and the rule of law, and I will look after the people’s interests fully,
and that I will protect the country’s independence and its territorial integrity.”
In
a speech delivered to Cairo University later the same day, the president promised
to restore the country’s parliament which was dissolved earlier this month. He also
emphasized that the army must respect the will of the people.
On the Friday
before being sworn in as president, Morsi took a symbolic oath before tens of thousands
of supporters in Cairo's Tahrir Square where the 2011 uprising began.
President
Morsi, who won last Sunday’s run-off election against former prime minister Amhed
Shafiq, is the Arab world’s first freely-elected Islamist president and is Egypt’s
fifth head of state since the overthrow of the monarchy around 60 years ago.