Roza Otunbayeva was inaugurated as Kyrgyzstan's president during an official ceremony on Saturday, becoming both the first female president in Central Asia and of a former Soviet republic in the process, RIA Novosti reported.
Otunbayeva, 59, swore the presidential oath during the ceremony at the Great Hall of the National Philharmonics.
A graduate of the Moscow State University and former diplomat, Otunbayeva was officially declared the country's president for a transitional period until December 31, 2011 following a national referendum on a new Kyrgyz constitution held last weekend.
The new constitution, supported by more than 90% of Kyrgyz citizens, converts Kyrgyzstan from a presidential to a parliamentary republic. In line with the new constitution, the 120-strong Kyrgyz parliament will appoint the prime minister and the government.
Otunbayeva will head the Kyrgyz government until the new Cabinet is appointed following parliamentary elections in October.
The Kyrgyz interim government came to power in April amid large-scale opposition protests that overthrew former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Bakiyev fled the country and has taken refuge in Belarus.
The Kyrgyz referendum followed several days of bloody interethnic riots that began in the Central Asian republic on June 11. The clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and minority Uzbeks claimed the lives of more than 280 people, according to government figures, but Kyrgyz officials acknowledge that the real death toll may be 10 times higher.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, whose representatives were among some 190 international observers monitoring the referendum, praised the referendum and the country's interim authorities for