Pastor elected as President of underpopulated island country Vanuatu

Tallis Obed Moses, a long-serving Pastor and former leader of the Presbyterian Church, has been elected President of the Vanuatu Republic in the southwest Pacific Ocean.

The 63-year-old was sworn in Thursday after winning 39 votes against his opponent, former prime minister Maxim Carlos Korman.

He replaces the former President Baldwin Lonsdale who died suddenly from a heart attack last month while serving in office.

Dan McGarry, the media director of the Vanuatu Daily Post who was at Parliament this morning, said Mr. Moses' reputation as a man of "impeccable moral character" was a decisive factor played a significant role in his being elected to succeed Lonsdale.

The Vanuatu Republic is an archipelago nation with 270,000 population. It's located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, north of New Zealand and east of Australia.