Portia Simpson Miller took the oath of office as Jamaica's new prime minister on Thursday, one week after her left-leaning People's National Party won a landslide victory in legislative elections here.
Simpson Miller became Jamaica's first female prime minister in 2006, but lost power after a year and a half in office.
In the ceremony at King’s House presided by Jamaica Governor-General Sir Patrick Linton Allen, Simpson Miller, 66, placed her hand over the Bible and vowed to fulfill her duties.
In the December 29 election Miller's party secured 41 seats in Jamaica's House of Representatives - two thirds of the total -
and showed the door to Andrew Holness, 39, the country's youngest-ever prime minister, of the centre-right Jamaica Labor Party.
The new prime minister told about 10 000 guests at the ceremony - which included Cuban Vice President Esteban Lazo and delegations from the United States and Caribbean nations - that it was rare to have a second chance to govern, but that she was now better prepared for the task.
Her speech focused mainly on the island's economic recovery, as she is inheriting a nearly 13 percent unemployment rate and a ballooning debt of $18.6 billion that accounts for one-third of the country's GDP.
Nearly half of all Jamaicans (43 percent) live under the poverty line of $2.50 per day, according to an IMF report.
Jamaica's new leader vowed to use state resources in a non-partisan way to stimulate the economy through the Jamaica Emergency Employment Program (JEEP).
Simpson Miller also said she would begin the process to establish Jamaica as a republic and break off all its ties to former colonial power Britain.
Currently under Jamaica's constitution Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state, and the prime minister is formally appointed by the governor-general, who represents the queen.
A new agreement with the International Monetary Fund on Jamaica's debt is one of the government's top priorities, Omar Davies, the official in charge of the transition, told reporters on Wednesday.
Talks with the IMF will begin on Monday, he said, adding that new cabinet ministers will be presented on Friday. - Sapa-AFP