Sawt Falasteen - Trinidad leader sworn in, vows fresh start for violence-weary state

Persad-Bissessar's party won an overall majority in elections last month on the twin-island Caribbean nation that is battling an economic slump and a rise in gang violence.

At a ceremony at the President's House, she promised to put the country "on the right pathway, where we cease to govern simply to win the next election, and instead govern to create wealth and opportunities for seven generations into the future."

"You've had prime ministers before me, you will have prime ministers after me. But guess what? You will never have a prime minister who loves you as much as I do," she said, beginning a five-year term.

"God bless you," she added.

According to a US Department of State report from March, the murder rate of 37 per 100,000 people made Trinidad and Tobago the sixth most dangerous nation in the world last year.

Persad-Bissessar, 73, promised to prioritize security during her term and to turn a new page for the country, claiming its previous leadership had "forgotten" its citizens.

The Caribbean's second-largest producer of natural gas has also been battling an economic downturn due partly to a decline in gas production.

Persad-Bissessar, who had held office from 2010 to 2015, ran in the vote last month against former energy minister Stuart Young, 50.

E.Aziz--SF-PST