East Timor, today, inaugurated a new Prime Minister at the head of a unity government, as it seeks to hand power to the next generation of leaders more than a decade after gaining independence.
The change in leadership came after independence hero Xanana Gusmao resigned as prime minister this month, with his party nominating a replacement from the opposition to try to ease the nation's often fraught politics.
The former health minister Rui Araujo, a New Zealand-trained doctor and popular opposition Fretilin figure, will lead just the sixth government since East Timor gained independence in 2002 from Indonesia after a long and bloody struggle against occupation.
"We can do better by working together," Araujo declared today in the capital Dili.
Several ministers embroiled in past corruption scandals and others from the old guard have been replaced by fresh faces in what analysts describe as a significant shake-up.
"I think that would give comfort to many people, to know that he's still there, still keeping an eye on things just to make sure it goes smoothly," Damien Kingsbury, an expert on East Timor at Australia's Deakin University, told AFP.
Gusmao led the military wing of East Timor's campaign against Indonesian occupation which began in 1975, and was imprisoned in Jakarta for several years. He returned to his homeland a hero after the Timorese voted for independence in a UN-backed referendum in 1999.
East Timor has suffered bouts of unrest in the past, although recent years have been largely peaceful, allowing UN peacekeepers finally to leave the country in 2012.
Graft is endemic, with East Timor ranked 133 out of 175 on Transparency International's corruption index last year. A number one ranking means the least corrupt.
Araujo said accountability and better service delivery would be key priorities of his administration, which will be put to the test when voters go to the polls in 2017.
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