George Weah was inaugurated on Monday as the new President of Liberia, where the United Nations is set to close its peacekeeping mission (UNMIL) in a few weeks after a successful 15-year presence in the West African country.

The new Liberian President took office at a ceremony in the capital, Monrovia, and it marks the first peaceful, democratic transfer of power, since the 1940s.

The UN Special Representative for West Africa, Ibn Chambas, described the inauguration as a “a remarkable achievement for Liberia”.

Addressing the crowds at a packed sports stadium, President Weah, a former star footballer said he’d spent his life in such arenas “but I have never felt like this”.

For UN News, Pascal Slim reports from Monrovia.