WASHINGTON, D.C. - Peter Cianchette of South Portland, Maine, was sworn in on Thursday as the U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica at the U.S. State Department.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice administered the oath to Cianchette in her seventh-floor office. His wife held the State Department’s Bible as he took the oath.

“It was a wonderful ceremony today, I felt the total majesty of the U.S. during the ceremony,” Cianchette said. He plans to leave for San Jose, Costa Rica, at the end of the month.

Former Maine Gov. John McKernan attended the ceremony as did Tomas Duenas, the Costa Rican ambassador to the United States. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both Republicans, were unable to attend due to votes in the Senate.

Cianchette, the Republican nominee for governor in 2002 and a former state legislator, was confirmed by the Senate last month and nominated to the post by President Bush in February. Since then, he has brushed up on his Spanish and completed a two-week ambassador training program.