Beverly Perdue became North Carolina's first female governor Saturday, completing a steady climb that began 23 years ago in New Bern overcoming presumptions about women candidates and culminating in Raleigh reaching the pinnacle of state politics.

See also: Residents Get Up Close With New Governor

After taking the oath of office before the female head of another branch of government - Chief Justice Sarah Parker - Perdue told more than 3,000 people at the inauguration ceremony she's ready to lead the state through a tough economy while improving education and how government operates.

"Nothing's ended today. It's just a brand-new beginning," Perdue told reporters after walking briefly in the inaugural parade before hosting an open house at the Executive Mansion. "This is a glorious way to begin, but on Monday we have a lot of work to do."

The successor to outgoing two-term Gov. Mike Easley, who watched from the front of the state Archives and History Building, Perdue referred only indirectly to her historic achievement in her 10-minute speech and focused on the state's current fiscal crisis. North Carolina is the 23rd state to have had a female governor.

"My presence before you represents a departure from our past," Perdue said following a 19-gun salute in her honor. "Today, I pledge to you that this new beginning is much more than symbolic."

Perdue, the 100th person to become North Carolina's chief executive going back to Colonial times, was the last of 10 Council of State members to be sworn in Saturday.

Four on the Council, including Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, are newcomers to the exclusive panel of statewide elected officials. Two of them are women - giving females a majority on the Council for the first time.

But the focus was on Perdue, who rose through the good ole' boy political ranks to serve as a powerful state Senate budget-writer and a two-term lieutenant governor for the past eight years. Women from across the state brought their children - particularly daughters - to witness the event.

Perdue received cheers when she pledged not to back off the state's commitment to education despite the state's anemic revenues, pledging to create more high-tech jobs and a green economy.

North Carolina's current budget shortfall has grown to $500 million since Perdue edged Republican nominee Pat McCrory in November's election. The gap between current revenues and expected expenditures could reach $3 billion in the coming fiscal year.

In keeping with her campaign platform, Perdue said she would create a more transparent, efficient state government "that works for them, not against them."

"Now is not the time for us to hunker down. We cannot 'just' cut back. And, I will not lower my expectations for you or for the people of North Carolina," she said.

Perdue, who turns 62 next week, was born in Grundy, Va. Her father began as a coal-miner but ended up a wealthy mine owner. She worked as a public school teacher in other states before moving to North Carolina in the 1970s and worked in the health care field after receiving a doctorate.

As the story from the campaign trail goes, Perdue got elected to the House in 1986 after the male Craven County political bosses sat her down and said a woman couldn't get elected in the rural district.

She switched five years later to the Senate, where she learned under two political heavyweights. Then-Gov. Jim Hunt made her a key part of passing his Smart Start early childhood initiative. And Senate leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare, gave her a coveted spot leading the Senate Appropriations Committee. Both attended the swearing-in.

"It's a wonderful feeling for me and people who know her," Basnight said. "She's going to do the right things and she will make tough, tough choices when it is necessary."

In a veiled reference to Easley, known more as a delegator who took criticism in his final year for problems with the mental health and probation system, Perdue said she would be very involved in day-to-day operations and called on citizens to be involved.

"I pledge to be a fully engaged, hands-on governor," she said.

Television icon and North Carolina native Andy Griffith capped the event on a sunny but blustery morning by reading a poem in Perdue's honor.

"Gov. Bev Perdue is the person we choose because there's so much she can do," recited Griffith, who also participated in Easley's 2001 and 2005 inaugurations. "She will need our best to achieve her quest to be the person we need so we may succeed."

In front of the old Capitol building two blocks away, Perdue and her husband, Bob Eaves, cheered as high school bands from New Bern reached the viewing stand. Nearby, old friend Skip Crayton said she always seemed like somebody who could reach the top.

"She's pulled people (up) with her all the time," Crayton said. "I think we were just waiting for it to happen." 



Perdue's Inauguration Speech:

Welcome to all of you. It is a privilege to be here today.
     
With gratitude we salute my predecessor, Gov. Mike Easley, for his years of service.
     
I want to thank so many of you. Especially my husband Bob Eaves - North Carolina's first "First Gentleman." And, my two sons Emmett and Garrett, who have been a part of this journey from my very first day of public life.
     
To all the family, friends, colleagues who have gathered for this celebration. I say - there is simply nothing finer than to be in North Carolina.
     
Today a new administration begins, one that is different from any other. My presence before you represents a departure from our past.
     
It is a new beginning.
     
Today, I pledge that this new beginning is much more than symbolic. I accept this oath of office to serve as North Carolina's 73rd governor with complete resolve to meet the challenges before us - directly and forcefully.
     
With a profound sense of duty, I intend to do everything in my power to provide opportunity to all who live here from Murphy to Manteo.
     
North Carolina has sometimes been slow to answer history's call. For too long, too many were held back by poverty, discrimination and the lack of an education. Our ability to confront these challenges is what has enabled us to move ahead.
     
More than two hundred years ago, North Carolina widened the doors of opportunity by establishing the nation's first state supported university - the University of North Carolina.
     
Big thinkers staked North Carolina's claim as a leader in learning and discovery at the Research Triangle Park, the largest research park in the world.
     
Prosperity is coming back to the old textile town of Kannapolis with the creation of a world-class, bio-tech center that will provide thousands of jobs to our people.
     
Our history books tell story after story of bold acts of leadership that brought hope and progress to our people.
     
Now it is time for us in the old North state to confront new challenges. We are in the midst of a global economic crisis. People are worried about losing their jobs, paying their mortgage, and planning for their future.
     
Now is not the time for us to hunker down. We cannot "just" cut back. And, we will not lower expectations.
     
I feel the urgency and I know you do, too. What we will do is accept this time of challenge as an opportunity to think big, dig deep, and push ahead. What we do over the next four years will define our future.
     
You have a governor who will speak candidly and who will act boldly.
     
I will focus on building on our core strengths and building up new strengths.
     
That's what we do in North Carolina. No other state can claim to have turned the practice of hauling moonshine into the high-tech, fast-growth engine, known as - NASCAR.
     
It took grit and toughness to establish prosperous industries in agriculture and manufacturing. With innovation we will take those economies and create new ones in the life sciences, defense, and green technology.