Col. Michael Randrianirina delivers his speech at the high constitutional court after being sworn in as president in Antananarivo, Madagascar, on Friday

AP Antananarivo (Madagascar)

An army colonel who seized power in a military coup was sworn in as Madagascar's new leader on Friday in a lightning-fast power grab that ousted the president and sent him fleeing from the country into hiding.

Col. Michael Randrianirina, the commander of an elite army unit, took the oath of office to become the new president at a ceremony in the main chamber of the nation's High Constitutional Court and in front of its nine red-robed judges. His ascent to the presidency came just three days after he announced that the armed forces were taking power in the sprawling Indian Ocean island of around 30 million people off Africa's east coast.

 The United Nations has condemned the military takeover as an unconstitutional change of government but there has been little significant reaction from other countries, including Madagascar's former colonial ruler, France.

The takeover - which came after three weeks of anti-government protests by mainly young people - led to Madagascar being suspended from the African Union. 

President Andry Rajoelina's whereabouts are unknown after he left the country claiming his life was in danger following the rebellion by soldiers loyal to Randrianirina. He reportedly escaped on a French military plane. In his absence, Rajoelina was impeached in a vote in parliament on Tuesday, right before the colonel announced the military was taking power.