Joe Biden has said it is "time to turn the page" after his presidential election victory was confirmed by the US electoral college.
In a speech after the announcement, he said US democracy had been "pushed, tested and threatened" and "proved to be resilient, true and strong".
He condemned President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the result.
Later Russian President Vladimir Putin became one of the last world leaders to congratulate Mr Biden on his victory.
Moscow had said it would wait for the official results before doing so. Most other national leaders contacted Mr Biden days after the vote on 3 November.
Confirmation by the electoral college was one of the steps required for Mr Biden to take office.
Under the US system, voters actually cast their ballots for "electors", who in turn formally vote for candidates after the election.
Democrat Joe Biden won November's contest with 306 electoral college votes to Republican Donald Trump's 232.
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