Sri Lanka's leftist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake took office as president on Monday, promising change in the island nation long led by powerful political families which is emerging from its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake is sworn in as Sri Lanka's ninth executive president in a simple ceremony.

Marxist leader Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s president after an election that saw voters reject an old guard accused of leading the country into economic crisis.