Anura Kumara Dissanayake, a Marxist-leaning politician with no political lineage, took oath as Sri Lanka’s president on Monday, a day after he won a comprehensive victory in the debt-ridden South Asian country’s presidential election.

Dissanayake has promised to overhaul what he calls Sri Lanka’s “corrupt political culture.”

Part of Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s appeal is his middle-class roots. He was born in the village of Thambuttegama in Anuradhapura district, which is located around 170 km from the capital Colombo.