CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM, Israel - Newly elected Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat was sworn into office Wednesday.

The 49-year-old father of three, whose parents moved to Jerusalem from central Israel when he was an infant, said he planned "to close the circle AND "bring back this city's attractiveness" so his daughters would want to live in Jerusalem after their military service and "so young people will desire to build their home and future here."

Barkat, a self-made hi-tech millionaire, sat in the opposition for five-and-a-half years after losing his first bid for election to outgoing Mayor Uri Lupolianski.

With the city facing a myriad of challenges, Barak said by working as a team they could be overcome.

"It is my hope that we will always think about the other and not only about the sector that sent each one of us here," he said.

Source: The Jerusalem Post