President-elect Sebastián Piñera invoked the calls to service by John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama as he challenged Chileans to come together to improve their country.

In Argentina, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner phoned Piñera to congratulate him on his victory and said she will attend his swearing-in ceremony on March 11th.

The conservative businessman, who won Sunday's election by a 52-48 percent margin over former president Eduardo Fri, vowed to appoint the "best, best prepared, most honest and most dedicated" people to help transform Chile "into the best country in the world."

Piñera, 60, has vowed to give Chile's state a business-like overhaul to boost efficiency, promising to create a million jobs and boost economy growth to average 6 percent a year.

He said he would overhaul state-own Codelco, the world's top copper producer, but any sale of the mining concern would need popular approval and would seek to inject fresh capital.

Critics say Piñera's plan depends too heavily on the private sector steady global recovery maintaining copper demand.