Mbeki Sworn In as S. African President

Thabo Mbeki, a child of the struggle against apartheid who was sent into exile 37 years ago to prepare for black majority rule, became this country’s second elected black leader Wednesday, replacing retiring President Nelson Mandela.

Mbeki took the oath of office in three languages outside the Union Buildings, the seat of government since 1913 and the center of white minority rule until five years ago. Unlike in 1994, when Mandela embraced his former white oppressors in an inauguration focused on national reconciliation, the statues of several apartheid-era leaders that adorn the administrative capital were covered Wednesday so as not to “spoil the occasion,” organizers said.

“We decided we could hide the bitter past of our country for just one day by not having to look at those faces,” said a member of the organizing committee, who requested anonymity.

The ceremony marked the country’s first routine hand-over of power as a multiracial democracy, but the history behind South Africa’s turnaround remained extraordinary enough to attract presidents, prime ministers, royalty and other dignitaries from more than 100 countries. Atty. Gen. Janet Reno headed the U.S. delegation.

“This is another miracle,” said Phineas Mabala, a 28-year-old unemployed laborer who was among the tens of thousands of ordinary South Africans standing shoulder to shoulder on the Union Buildings lawn. “I was here for the inauguration in 1994, but this feels even better.”

Mbeki’s presidency signals a generational passing in the leadership of the ruling African National Congress, which loses to retirement several “titans” of the movement, as Mbeki called Mandela and the others. Mbeki, who turns 57 on Friday, was joined on the dais by the departing ANC leaders. Among them was his 89-year-old father, Govan, who was imprisoned on Robben Island with Mandela during the apartheid era.

“None of us can peer into their hearts to learn what they feel as this infant democracy they brought into the world begins its sixth year of existence,” Mbeki said. “But this I can say, that we who are their offspring know that we owe to them much of what is humane, noble and beautiful in the thoughts and actions of our people as they strive to build a better world for themselves.”

Mandela, smiling and relaxed, happily played second fiddle to his successor, swapping chairs with Mbeki after the official swearing-in, and both raised their arms in a victory salute to cheers from the crowd. Mandela did not speak during the ceremony, which was as much a farewell to him as a welcome to Mbeki, but later in the day he addressed revelers on the lawn.

“It is the task of the president and the African National Congress to unite our country and to forget [our] differences,” Mandela said. “And I have no doubt that we have a capable man who is rising up to the challenges that face him.”

At an evening banquet in honor of his retirement, Mandela spoke glowingly of Mbeki, saying the new president will ensure that the hard work of such late ANC leaders as Albert Luthuli and Oliver Tambo results in better lives for poor South Africans.

In his acceptance speech, Mbeki acknowledged that his task will not be easy because of the country’s high crime rate, the growing AIDS epidemic, widespread poverty and deep racial tensions. He reached out to whites, however, saying people of all races share a common destiny. In keeping with his dream of an African renaissance, he pledged to seek African solutions to the country’s problems.