Alejandro Toledo, Peru's first freely elected president of native Indian descent, has been sworn in.

Alejandro Toledo, a shoeshine boy who rose from poverty to become a World Bank economist, defeated controversial ex-president Alan Garcia in the presidential election in Peru’s cleanest election in years.

Alejandro Toledo, an economist with native Indian roots, finished first in Peru’s presidential election yesterday but fell short of a majority and will face a runoff, according to exit polls.