Now that Hamed Karzai has been officially declared the president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, he is busy preparing his next steps.

According to presidential press spokesperson Siyamak Herawi, Karzai will take the oath of office on November 19, 2009; shortly after that he is expected to announce his Cabinet.

The inauguration will be attended by Afghan political figures, parliamentarians, and foreign guests, including some foreign heads of state, said Herawi. He would not name any dignitaries who might be planning on attending, due to security concerns.

Karzai will be sworn in by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, just as he was at his first inauguration, in December, 2004.

Satar Sayeedi, a BBC journalist who participated in the 2004 ceremony, remembers it well.

“We had to be there very early in the morning, but the ceremony did not take place until late afternoon,” he recalled. “Karzai gave the oath of office before Zahir Shah, the Father of the Nation, as well as the Chief Justice and seven members of the Supreme Court. His two vice presidents, Ahmad Zia Massoud and Karim Khalili, were also sworn in the same day.”

The inauguration lasted for about an hour, said Sayeedi, and Afghan children provided entertainment, dressed in national costumes and singing patriotic songs.

Karzai’s international status has changed a bit since the heady days of his first administration. In 2004, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife attended the inauguration, as did Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. A cooling of relations with the United States could mean that the delegates from Washington might be of a less exalted status.

According to Gul Rahman Qazi, head of the Lawyer’s Association and a lecturer at Kabul University, there are no special guidelines for whom to invite to the inauguration.

Security will be a major concern, given the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. The Taliban had threatened to disrupt the elections, and have carried out several high-profile attacks in the capital recently, including an armed attack on a UN guest house and a series of mortar strikes on the Kabul Serena Hotel and the presidential palace.

But security services will be on high alert to prevent any unfortunate incidents, says Ministry of Defense spokesman, Zahir Azimi.

Once he is officially sworn in, Karzai can begin to announce his choices for key cabinet positions. He is under intense pressure, both internationally and at home. Foreign governments are insisting that he clean up corruption and minimize the presence of “warlords” in the government. But jihadi leaders who lent him their support during the election campaign are expecting Karzai to follow through on his promises.

Karzai’s new administration is going to have a very interesting start.