Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia was sworn in as prime minister on Thursday, ending a three-decade political career that saw him go from being Mahathir Mohamad's apprentice to leading protests, being imprisoned for sodomy, and leading the opposition.

His nomination puts an end to the historic post-election turmoil that lasted five days, but his competitor, former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, may challenge him to demonstrate his majority in parliament, which might spark new unrest.

Both men failed to win a majority in a Saturday election, but the constitutional monarch, King Al-Sultan Abdullah, appointed Anwar after speaking to several lawmakers.

The 75-year-old Anwar takes over at a challenging time: the economy is slowing and the country is divided after a tight election that pitted Anwar’s progressive coalition against Muhyiddin’s mostly conservative ethnic-Malay, Muslim alliance.

As premier, Anwar will have to address soaring inflation and slowing growth as the economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic while calming ethnic tensions. The most immediate issue will be the budget for next year, which was tabled before the election was called but has yet to be passed.

Anwar will also have to negotiate agreements with lawmakers from other blocs to ensure he can retain majority support in parliament.