Sudanese President Omar el Bashir (r) holds hands with former leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Army John Garang

Former rebel leader John Garang has been sworn in as Sudan's vice president, under terms of the peace agreement ending the country's 21-year civil war.

At a ceremony Saturday in the presidential palace in Khartoum, Mr. Garang became second in command behind his former enemy President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick and other diplomats attended the inauguration ceremony.

Mr. Garang will serve as Sudan's first vice president under terms of the January accord between southern rebels under his command and the northern-based Islamic government. .

As part of the peace agreement, the former rebel leader will preside over a semi-autonomous government in the south, which is mainly Christian and Animist. In six years, southerners will vote whether to secede or remain part of Sudan.