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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Liberal environmental activist and lawyer Zuzana Caputova has been inaugurated as the first female president of Slovakia.
Caputova took the oath of office at a special session of Parliament Saturday, becoming Slovakia's fifth president since it gained independence after the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993.
The 45-year-old has little experience in politics but attracted voters who are appalled by corruption and mainstream politics. Her election to the largely ceremonial post defied a wave of gains for far right populists across Europe.
The president of the nation of 5.4 million people has the power to pick the prime minister, appoint Constitutional Court judges and veto laws. Parliament can override the veto with a simple majority, however. The government, led by the prime minister, possesses most executive powers.
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