Singer “Sweet Micky” takes oath as Haiti’s president

PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) – Michel Martelly, a  charismatic singer with no government experience, was sworn in  as Haiti’s president today, shouldering a daunting task  of reconstruction in his poor, earthquake-battered nation.
The shaven-headed former entertainer, 50, took the oath of  office before Haiti’s national assembly in a prefabricated  U.N.-supplied structure erected on the site of the old  parliament building destroyed by last year’s earthquake.
Reflecting the huge rebuilding challenges facing the  Western Hemisphere’s poorest state, a power outage struck as  the swearing-in ceremony started, but Martelly went ahead with  the oath.
Outgoing President Rene Preval joined the applause as his  successor received the blue and red Haitian presidential sash.
In a small but volatile Caribbean nation with a history of  revolts and dictatorships, the inauguration marks the first  time that a democratically-elected Haitian president hands over  power to a freely-elected leader from the opposition.
Martelly was due to give a speech outside the crumbled  structure of the quake-damaged white-domed presidential palace,  near a central square in Port-au-Prince where thousands of  quake homeless are still sheltering in a temporary tent camp.
The new president, a star of Haiti’s Konpa carnival music  who is known as “Sweet Micky,” wooed mostly poor and illiterate  voters with a potent promise of change in a whirlwind election  campaign that culminated in his victory in a March 20 run-off.
He has vowed to transform Haiti from a development basket  case into a new Caribbean destination for investment and  tourism that will provide jobs and better lives for its 10  million people.
Among those attending the swearing in were the presidents  of other Caribbean states, including the neighboring Dominican  Republic, and representatives of major donor nations.
Bill Clinton, the U.N. special envoy to Haiti, led the U.S.  delegation, while French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe  represented Haiti’s former colonial ruler.
Martelly won a popular mandate in a sometimes turbulent  election protected by U.N. peacekeepers. The vote was steered  through by the international community led by the United  States, which persuaded local electoral officials to rectify  several alleged fraud cases.
The new president can count on international support,  including from the United States, as he sets out to rebuild one  of the world’s poorest and disaster-prone countries, where  hundreds of thousands of destitute earthquake victims are  demanding jobs and homes.