One day after prevailing in Chile's groundbreaking presidential election, Ms Bachelet told reporters that her fledgling government would be comprised by the country's "best and brightest," fully tapping a broad spectrum of Chile's varied society.
"The task ahead of us is so beautiful -- to create a country which is more prosperous, more just, a country of greater solidarity, a country of and for the people," Ms Bachelet said.
Demonstrating that she will not tolerate machismo, Ms Bachelet took a male journalist to task for asking how she would handle the pressure of her new job without a "boyfriend or tenderness."
"I would have loved it if a man had been in my place, you would have asked him the same thing," she said. "So the challenge is that in the future you ask the same type of question to men."
A former minister of health and later defense minister, Ms Bachelet, 54, gained 53.5 percent of the vote in Sunday's balloting, seven points ahead of rival Sebastian Pinera, and won in all but one of the country's 13 regions.
Her victory extends the rule of the center-left coalition that has governed the South American country since the 1990 collapse of Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship, and came by a larger margin than anticipated.
An agnostic single mother of three, Ms Bachelet was not an obvious choice for leadership in this socially conservative Roman Catholic country.
But the economic successes of the current administration evidently played a significant role in her election.
Congratulations
Mr Pinera congratulated Ms Bachelet, who he said symbolizes "the struggle of millions of women to reach the position they deserve."
Chile's current president, Ricardo Lagos, hailed what he termed "a historic triumph." Ms Bachelet is widely expected to continue the policies he initiated.
"Today we are a new Chile. Having a woman as president demonstrates this. We are a Chile that is more free, more diverse, more just, more prosperous, more modern," he said in an address from the presidential palace.
"It will be a difficult task, but your capabilities will enable us to have a great government and a great woman," said Lagos.
Meanwhile, leaders from around the world on Monday hailed Ms Bachelet's election, and expressed a desire to work with her once she takes office on March 11.
Germany's first female leader, Chancellor Angela Merkel, on Monday congratulated Ms Bachelet in a telegram.
"I congratulate you most warmly on your election as president," said Ms Merkel, who took office as Germany's first female leader on November 22.
"I wish you strength, confidence and success," Ms Merkel added.
Mexico's President Vicente Fox said he is exploring the possibility of meeting with Ms Bachelet when he travels to Santiago next week, while French president Jacques Chirac said he also looks forward to establishing close ties with the new government.
Spanish leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero expressed satisfaction over Latin America's first ever "progressive" woman president.
The European Union also welcomed the election of Socialist Michelle Bachelet as the first woman president of Chile, after run-off weekend elections.
"I wish you every success in your new responsibilities, in which you can always count on the full support of the European Union," said EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.