Liberia's Nobel peace laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was sworn in Monday in a lavish $1.2 million ceremony after her disputed reelection in the nation's second post-war polls.

The 73-year old grandmother took the oath administered by the country's Chief Justice Johnnie Lewis as thousands looked on from the grounds of the capitol building in Monrovia.

"I, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, do solemnly swear that I will uphold, protect and defend the constitution and law of the Republic of Liberia," she said.

Sirleaf, Africa's first democratically-elected female president, managed to appease her opponents on the eve of her inauguration.

The opposition Congress for Democratic Change recognised her win Sunday after a rocky election and weeks of negotiations.

While the government said some 30 heads of state would attend the ceremony, few were visible -- among them Guinea's Alpha Conde, Senegal's Abdoulaye Wade and Sierra Leone's Ernest Koroma.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended as part of a whirlwind trip in Africa, and other nations sent representatives.

The ceremony, with singing and traditional dances, was to be followed by a military parade and floats representing Liberia's 15 counties. Several inaugural balls and receptions will take place in different districts.

Foreign Minister Toga McIntosh has said that a budget of 1.2 million dollars (950,000 euros) was approved for the ceremony in what is one of Africa's poorest countries.

Sirleaf remains widely respected abroad for her role in reconstructing the nation shattered by a 14-year conflict.

However, attitudes cooled to Sirleaf at home when a 2009 Truth and Reconciliation Commission named her among people who should not hold public office for 30 years for backing warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor.

Sirleaf has admitted to initially backing Taylor's insurgency against dictator Samuel Doe in 1989 which led to the country's first civil war, but became a fierce opponent as the true extent of his war crimes emerged.

A high-ranking official in the Obama administration with Clinton's delegation said Sirleaf "has done a remarkable job of rebuilding her country".

Africa's "Iron Lady" won a joint Nobel Peace Prize in October, just days before a first round of voting in the presidential election, which the opposition said was riddled with fraud.

Congress for Democratic Change candidate Winston Tubman boycotted the run-off and called a protest march on the eve of the November 8 poll which turned violent and saw police open fire on his supporters, leaving up to four dead.

Sirleaf eventually won 90.7 percent of votes in the run-off, but turnout was low and the opposition then refused to accept her victory.

While billed an opportunity to cement a fragile democracy eight years after the end of a 14-year conflict that killed 250,000 people, the elections showed the nation remained deeply divided.

After weeks of negotiations which stalled several times, Tubman called off a protest march planned for the inauguration and announced on Sunday: "We recognise that Madam Sirleaf is the president of Liberia."

"Since the elections, we have been holding negotiations with the government on how to resolve the disagreement... and having had fruitful discussions, we feel confident that the CDC will be incorporated in the government," he added.

Security has been tightened across the capital, with several checkpoints set up along the highway leading to the country's main Roberts International Airport, as UN military helicopters hovered overhead.

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Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Inaugurated As Liberia's 24th President

Monday, 16th January 2012

Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has been sworn in as the 24th President of the Republic of Liberia, at a ceremony witnessed by distinguished personalities that included the leaders of the country’s three neighboring countries – Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Côte d’Ivoire.

United States Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, led the American delegation to the ceremony, which was also attended by the President of Senegal, Abdoulaye Wade and the President of Benin, Dr. Boni Yayi.

The occasion was also witnessed by leaders of Liberian opposition parties, among them, Cllr. Winston Tubman and Ambassador George Weah of the Congress for Democratic Change, and Cllr. Charles Brumskine of the Liberty Party.

The Oath of Office was administered on Monday, January 16, by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, His Honor Johnnie N. Lewis, on the grounds of the Capitol Building in Monrovia.

In her Inaugural Address, President Johnson Sirleaf said the foundations for peace and prosperity have now been laid, emphasizing that it is now time to hasten the administration’s true mission of putting people, especially the young, first and lifting the lives of all Liberians.

In her Address, titled "The Values of a Patriot," the Liberian President called for patriotism to achieve the daunting task of nation building. She said government will play its part in creating the conditions for growth and development, but citizens must join in the effort to achieve the objectives set by government.

"I call on you, my fellow citizens, to join me in renewing our resolve to restore our country and lead it to its grand destiny," the President said, urging Liberians to be proud of what has already been achieved, "but a still fiercer resolve to do all that must yet be done so that all Liberians thrive in freedom, equality and friendship.