Former PM takes oath as Portuguese head of state

Former conservative prime minister Anibal Cavaco Silva was sworn in as Portugal’s new president today, becoming the country’s first right-of-centre head of state in three decades.

Cavaco Silva, who was prime minister between 1985 and 1995, took the oath in a Lisbon ceremony at the parliament, which was followed by a 21-gun salute from a Navy frigate moored in the nearby Tagus River.