Bogota, Colombia ? President Alvaro Uribe inaugurated an unprecedented second term Monday, promising to seek an elusive peace with leftist rebels while maintaining the hardline security policies credited with a sharp drop in murder and kidnappings.

In a ceremony attended by 11 heads of state but marked by the absence of presidents from regional heavyweights Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela, Uribe said he would devote “all of his energies” to pursuing a peaceful end to this nation’s four-decade old civil war.

“I’m not afraid of negotiating peace. I confess what worries me more is falling short of that goal and instead seeing our gains in security eroded,” the 54-year old Uribe said, after retaking the oath of office.

But his inaugural speech to a Congress stacked with loyal supporters was short on specifics.

After reforming the constitution last year to allow him to seek a second term, Uribe coasted to victory in May 28 elections with 62 percent of the vote – 10 points more than he won in 2002.

Uribe is Colombia’s first sitting president to be re-elected.

Despite his reputation as a free-market conservative and Washington’s closest ally in Latin America, Uribe at times in his speech sounded like the left-leaning social democrat favored of late by voters in neighboring countries.