Billionaire Sebastian Pinera won Chile's presidency Jan. 17 in the country's first democratic election of a right-wing ruler in 52 years and vowed to make Chile "the best country in the world."

Ruling coalition candidate Eduardo Frei (right) embraces opposition candidate Sebastian Pinera after Pinera was declared the winner of the presidential runoff in Santiago on Jan. 17. AP PHOTO

Pinera's triumph over former President Eduardo Frei ended more than two decades of rule by the center-left coalition that followed Augusto Pinochet's brutal dictatorship and marked a tilt to the right on a continent dominated by leftist governments.

In a victory speech that invoked the calls to service of U.S. presi dents John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama, Pinera vowed to hire the "best, most prepared, most honest and most dedicated" people for his government, and called on a new generation of Chileans to meet his challenge.

"Chile isn't the biggest, richest or most powerful country in the world, but we should dedicate ourselves to transforming it into the best country in the world," he said. "We don't have a single minute to lose."

Pinera earned 52 percent of the votes to 48 percent for Frei.

Pinera, who ran on a platform of creating jobs and boosting economic growth in the world's top copper producer, asked for unity and dialogue with his opponents, saying "we need not only a good government but a good opposition, working constructively to build a better country."

After two decades with the same politicians in power, many leftists have become disenchanted with the government, enabling the right wing to win at the voting booth for the first time since Jorge Allesandri Rodriguez won the presidency in 1958.