NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar entered a new era on Wednesday as Aung San Suu Kyi’s democracy movement took power after 50 years of military domination, with a close aide of the Nobel laureate sworn in as president.

Htin Kyaw, a school friend and confidante of the democracy champion, succeeds former general Thein Sein, who ushered in reforms that transformed Myanmar from a repressive hermit state to a nation full of hope.

As Htin Kyaw took the oath of office, he hinted he would change the army-imposed constitution that has excluded his friend and mentor from the top post.

Suu Kyi, 70, is barred from becoming president by the junta-scripted constitution but has declared that she will steer the government anyway. Htin Kyaw is expected to act as her proxy.

The handover at the junta-built Parliament in the capital Naypyidaw marks the final act of a prolonged transition since Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party swept elections last November.

The NLD won 80 percent of parliamentary seats, giving them a massive public mandate to rule.

They are tasked with reviving a battered economy and a society straitjacketed by the army, which ruled with an iron fist between 1962 and the start of reforms in 2011 under Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian administration.

Welcoming a new age of full civilian government, the bespectacled new president pledged to be “faithful to the people of the republic of the union of Myanmar.”

“I will uphold and abide by the constitution and its laws. I will carry out my responsibilities uprightly and to the best of my ability,” the 69-year-old told the chamber.