ATHENS, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Katerina Sakellaropoulou was sworn in on Friday as Greek president at the parliament, Greece's national broadcaster ERT reported.
The former top judge is the first female head of state in the history of modern Greece.
She took an oath to "safeguard the Constitution and the laws, to care for their faithful observance, to defend Greece's national independence and territorial integrity, to protect the rights and liberties of Greeks, and to serve the general interest and the progress of the Greek people."
Only about 100 guests, instead of a planned 1,000, attended the ceremony due to emergency measures introduced to contain the novel coronavirus outbreak, as the country has reported 117 confirmed cases to date.
Sakellaropoulou laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier -- Greece's foremost military monument -- before heading to the presidential mansion for a handover ceremony with outgoing President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, who assumed office in March 2015.
Sakellaropoulou, 63, until recently president of the Council of State -- Greece's highest administrative court -- was elected on Jan. 22 by 261 out of 300 lawmakers. She was the sole candidate.
