Kamala Harris sworn in as the first female US Vice President

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Kamala Harris: The 56-year-old lawyer from California is the first female vice president in the country's history

Photo: Michael Perez / AP

Kamala Harris was sworn in as the first female vice president of the United States.

Supreme Court judge Sonia Sotomayor took the 56-year-old's oath of office on Wednesday on the west side of the US Capitol in Washington, just before Joe Biden was to be sworn in as president.

Biden and Harris replace Donald Trump and his deputy Mike Pence after only one term.

The ceremony at the US Capitol took place under unprecedented security.

Two weeks ago violent supporters of the elected Trump stormed the parliament building.

The fear of renewed violence around the swearing-in was great.

Thousands of members of the National Guard have been deployed to protect the congress building.

Because of the corona pandemic, the handover took place without the usual mass audience.

As the first female US Vice President, Harris is also responsible for another novelty: Her husband Doug Emhoff becomes the first »second gentleman« in the history of the country.

Harris is not only the first woman, but also the first black woman to hold the office of vice president.

Harris and Biden want to unite the country and make enormous efforts to cope with the corona pandemic and the economic crisis it has triggered.

They have also promised to address structural racism and inequality in America.

In contrast to Trump, they want to work more closely with traditional US allies and renew multilateral alliances.

The Biden government also wants to bring the USA back into international treaties such as the Paris Climate Agreement

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