PRAGUE, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Retired army general Petr Pavel was sworn in on Thursday as the fourth president of the Czech Republic before a joint session of both chambers of parliament at Prague Castle's Vladislav Hall.
In his inauguration speech, Pavel pledged to unite the country and open the way for value-driven politics.
"Together we face the same problems, and only together can we successfully deal with them," he said.
Pavel now begins his five-year mandate. He could serve a maximum of two terms should he win another election after the current mandate ends.
Pavel previously served as head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military committee. He won the second round of the Czech presidential election in January this year with 58.32 percent of the vote, against former Prime Minister Andrej Babis' 41.67 percent. ■