Suu Kyi aide sworn in as Myanmar president in historic power shift

Htin Kyaw, the man chosen by Aung San Suu Kyi to serve as her proxy, was sworn in as Myanmar's president on Wednesday in a historic power shift away from outright army rule.

The 69-year-old close aide and confidante of Suu Kyi pledged to be "faithful to the people of the republic of the union of Myanmar" at a ceremony at the country's parliament in the capital Naypyidaw.

'Hungry for change'

The Southeast Asian nation of 51 million people is in the throes of a dramatic transformation as it emerges from domination by paranoid and repressive generals who cut the country off from the outside world.

As a result expectations for an NLD-dominated government run high, but Myanmar's new rulers face a steep task.

^{President-elect Htin Kyaw (left) leaves the parliament building after delivering his first address on March 20, 2016. —AFP}

Civil wars continue to rage in ethnic minority borderlands, poverty is widespread and the military continues to hold huge political and economic powers.

"The country is ready and hungry for change," political analyst Khin Zaw Win told AFP.

He said the party would be under pressure to quickly build on the reforms of the outgoing quasi-civilian government and not try to "start from scratch".

Myanmar has witnessed a staggering political change shepherded by outgoing President Thein Sein, a former senior junta general.

Investors and tourists have begun to pile in as many of the junta's worst repressions have eased promising a better future to a public who now have access to mobile phones, cheaper cars and other coveted consumer goods.

A key challenge for Suu Kyi's administration will be maintaining smooth relations with a military that locked her and many of her colleagues up for years. 

The charter ring fences a quarter of parliamentary seats to unelected soldiers and gives the army chief control over the home affairs, border and defense ministries -- and with it sweeping powers over the civil service.

The NLD has also hit stumbling blocks even before taking office.

There are concerns over the cabinet line up in which Suu Kyi is the only woman and the majority of members are in their 60s or older, despite representing one the region's youngest populations.

Suu Kyi is also rumored to be taking four ministerial posts -- president's office, energy, education and foreign affairs.

The minister widely expected to take the role of finance chief was also swept into a row last week when it was spotted that his officially released CV contained a fake PhD. He said he had been the victim of a scam. —Agence France-Presse