Standing between two wall-length portraits of his assassinated father, Maj Gen Joseph Kabila (29) assumed control of the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday. He is Africa's youngest head of state.
When he later addressed the nation for the first time on television, President Kabila offered fresh hope of ending the two-year war against Rwandan and Ugandan-backed rebels which has driven Congo to the brink of collapse.
Promising to pursue a "policy of openness" and to revive the dormant Lusaka peace deal, he said a settlement would lead to free presidential elections in Congo. He also said he would build relations with EU countries, particularly France, and liberalise the exchange rate.
It was President Kabila's first public speech since being propelled him to power last week in the wake of the mysterious assassination of his father, Laurent Desire Kabila.
The new president is hugely dependent on his military allies, particularly Angola, to ensure his own term of office does not end in the same way.
Heavily armed Zimbabwean, Angolan and Namibian troops surrounded the People's Palace during yesterday's brief inauguration.
Now President Kabila will have to work hard to convince Congo's 50 million inhabitants - many living behind rebel lines - that he is one of them.
Unheard of until last week, Kabila was a shy soldier promoted to high position by his paranoid father. He grew up in east Africa and has lived in Congo for just three years.
Congolese people still see him as a foreigner but, weary of a crippling war they didn't start, they are reserving judgment.
"We don't know much about him and he doesn't seem to know a lot about us," said Kinshasa entrepreneur Mr Albert Lunda. "But we're hoping he will bring an end to this war and then step aside for a democratically elected president."
Last night's national address was made in carefully spoken French, dispelling earlier criticisms that he could not speak one of Congo's two first languages.
Foreign diplomats, who initially feared the assassination would plunge Congo even deeper into chaos, are now quietly optimistic that the new president will pave the way for peace.
In the last week there has been a flurry of communication between Kabila's aides and officials from Uganda, one of the two countries sponsoring the rebellion. Angola, believed to wield enormous influence in Kinshasa, is facilitating the discreet contacts.