In pics: Jair Bolsonaro takes over as Brazil's 38th President

Jair Bolsonaro, also infamously known as 'Trump of Brazil', was sworn in as president on Tuesday. 

Far-right lawmaker Jair Bolsonaro won Brazil's presidential election in October this year, riding a wave of frustration over corruption and crime that brought a dramatic swing to the right in the world's fourth-largest democracy.

Born in 1955 to a Catholic family with Italian roots, Bolsonaro served as a paratrooper in the military before starting his political career in 1988 as a Rio de Janeiro city councilor. He was an army captain during Brazil's brutal military dictatorship (1964-1985).

Two years later, he was elected to the lower house of Congress, where he has been since.

Bolsonaro has four sons - three of them politicians - and, in what he called a moment of 'weakness,' a daughter.

He has ignited one explosive controversy after another with his misogynist and racist remarks.

With piercing blue eyes, Bolsonaro was known for his physical strength in his army days - earning the nickname 'Big Horse.'

Today, his most fervent supporters have given him another nickname, the 'Myth.'

Bolsonaro, 63, calls himself an admirer of Donald Trump, and has similarly tapped a deep national malaise - in Brazil's case, one caused by crime, an ailing economy and the never-ending 'Car Wash' corruption scandal that has stoked fury at the political class.

He has built an image as a political outsider ready to rough up the establishment - no small feat given that, unlike the US president, he is a longtime politician.

Bolsonaro was sworn in on Tuesday, and immediately called on Congress to combat endemic corruption and promised to 'work tirelessly so that Brazil reaches its destiny.'

He said his government would be guided by the promises he made to Brazilian voters fed up with graft, high levels of violent crime and a still-sputtering economy.