Ranchi, May 18 (IANS): Draupadi Murmu on Monday took oath as the ninth governor of Jharkhand, the first tribal woman to occupy the position in the state.

She was administered the oath of office at Raj Bhawan by Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice Virendra Singh. She succeeded Syed Ahmad, who has been shifted to Manipur.

Chief Minister Ragjubar Das and others were among those present at the ceremony.

Born on June 20, 1958, Murmu was first elected in 2000 on a BJP ticket from Rairangpur in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district. She was re-elected in 2005 after which she was elevated to the cabinet and given charge of transport and commercial taxes.

Murmu graduated from R.B. Womens College Bhubneshwar in 1979. She also worked as a clerk in the state secretariat for some years before joining politics.

She was also the vice-president of Rairangpur Notified Area Council from 1996-98. She was made the BJP district president of Mayurbhanj in May 2013.