Israel's elder statesman, Shimon Peres, declared his intentions to pursue peace in his inaugural speech as ninth president of Israel on Sunday evening.

"[The president] must encourage peace processes. Within the house. With our neighbors. In the whole region." he said in his speech to the Knesset after he was sworn in.

"When opportunity for peace is created, it mustn't be missed," he said.

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He paid homage to several of Israel's former leaders, including his mentor and Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, calling him "the greatest Jew I've ever known."

Peres remembered slain prime minister and fellow Labor party leader Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated in 1995 by a Jewish extremist.

"On this festive occasion, I mourn in my heart Yitzhak Rabin's murder," Peres said.

He also mentioned former prime minister Ariel Sharon, who has been in a coma since January 2006, calling him "a great fighter and courageous leader."

The presidency in Israel is a largely ceremonial role, a major departure from Peres' 60 years in every major post in Israeli politics.

"In my heart, today, there dwell together joy, facing the challenge you have placed on me, but also sadness at the hour of parting. I am leaving this house - the beating heart of Israeli democracy, after having saddled its benches for forty-eight years, more than half of my life," he said.

Read the text of the entire speech here.

In an interview with the Associated Press just hours before the ceremony, he said that peace would require Israel to withdraw from significant pieces of territory captured in the 1967 Six Day War.

"We have to get rid of the territories," he said, referring to the West Bank, insisting that this is the majority view in Israel today.

The swearing-in ceremony began at 6:30 P.M., and opened and closed with a triple fanfare. Peres swore allegiance and signed his declaration, after which the shofar was blown, Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik called out, "Long live the president of the State of Israel," and the assembled MKs and audience replied, "Long live, long live, long live."

Addressing the plenum ahead of Peres, Itzik paid tribute to the new president, saying that the state of Israel thanked him for his years of care.

Peres arrived at the Knesset accompanied by Itzik. He first inspected an Israel Defense Forces honor guard, and laid a wreath at the monument to fallen Israel Defense Forces soldiers, located at the entrance to the Knesset building, before heading inside for the ceremony.

Peres was elected a month ago, after besting MKs Reuven Rivlin (Likud) and Colette Avital (Labor). Moshe Katsav resigned from the presidency two weeks ago, and Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik has been serving as acting president in the interim.

In an interview with the Associated Press before the ceremony, Peres admitted he was surprised when he was overwhelmingly elected president. In the previous race for the presidency seven years ago, parliament handed Peres a humiliating defeat.

"I don't think there was any person who was so much attacked and criticized in these last 60 years like myself. But the fact that after 60 years of criticism, of terrible remarks, they decided to elect me as the president," Peres said.

Peres said he would even be willing to meet a president of Iran if it would advance the cause of peace, but not the current leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly called for Israel's elimination. Peres noted the long history of ties between Jewish and Persian leaders from Biblical times and until the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.

World leaders congratulate Peres
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert paid tribute to Peres earlier Sunday, saying that he would "bring much honor to politics in Israel."

Olmert, speaking at a weekly cabinet meeting, said "If one were to academically research the qualities of the ideal candidate for presidency, Peres' experience and history would represent those qualities perfectly."

"This is a big day for Israel. Peres is one of the leading figures in the history of this state. There is nobody more popular than Peres in the world, and the world's attitude toward him radiates onto the entire country," Olmert added.

Former United States president Bill Clinton, a close friend of Peres, sent a personal letter to congratulate the new president.

"Hillary and I wish our friend Shimon much success. We know he is the best candidate for the position of president," wrote the former American president. "This is a critical time for Israel and we hope that Shimon Peres will lift it up."

Former British prime minister Tony Blair, who was recently appointed the envoy of the Quartet of Middle East peacemakers, also congratulated Peres.

"I'd like to offer my warmest congratulations to Shimon Peres. He is one of the most respected figures in politics the world over, he's got extraordinary character, he's the best person who can turn a phrase that I know in politics, he's wise, he's principled. He's somebody who has the sort of experience and insight that is really doing something not just to Israel and to the region but to the wider world... It's a big challenge but I know he's fully up to it.

Pope Benedict XVI sent Peres a congratulatory message Saturday, urging him to work for peace in the region.

"Countless people in the world, as well as the citizens of Israel, expect you to encourage the relevant governments and bodies to do all that is possible to promote peace," the pope wrote.

The list of invitees to the ceremony strives to reflect the various currents in Israeli society and history. Among those invited are Rachel Rabin, Yitzhak Rabin's sister; Al Schwimmer, a founder of Israel Aircraft Industries; Sorin Hershko, an IDF casualty of Operation Entebbe; Smadar Haran, who lost her family in the 1979 terrorist attack in Nahariya; Rona Ramon, widow of astronaut Ilan Ramon; Haim Sidovsky, an advocate for the release of Jewish Underground prisoners; Avishai Bar Yehuda, who heads a group of settlers evacuated from the Gaza Strip; Migdal Ha'emek's rabbi, Yitzhak David Grossman; Sheikh Abdullah Nimr Darwish, founder of the Islamic Movement; authors Meir Shalev and Eli Amir; actress Gila Almagor and others.

Among the official dignitaries invited are Supreme Court justices, former presidents and Knesset speakers, and ambassadors.