Mr Tayyip Erdogan has succeeded Mr Abduallah Gul as prime minister of Turkey, completing his rejuvenation from political prisoner to head of government.
Mr Gul had led the government since the Justice and Development Party swept to victory in general elections last November. Mr Erdogan was the figure-head for the campaign and the popular choice as prime minister but he was banned from public office because of a 1998 conviction for sedition.
However, after a recent change in the law, Mr Erdogan fought and won a by-election at the weekend that allowed take up a seat in parliament. Today the pre-election strategy of putting a temporary prime minister, Mr Gul, in place until the law change came to fruition.
Mr Gul resigned earlier today leaving Mr Erdogan, as leader of the largest parliamentary party, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer's choice as new head of government.
"The president has given me the duty of forming the next government," Mr Erdogan told reporters after the meeting.
The new prime minister must present a cabinet list to Mr Sezer before he can form a new government and seek a vote of confidence in parliament.
He has signalled he will press parliament to support a motion allowing tens of thousands of US troops to use Turkey as a launchpad for an attack on Iraq once he takes office.
Parliament rejected the motion earlier this month, endangering up to $30 billion in aid that the United States offered in return for the use of Turkish military facilities.
Turkey, NATO's only Muslim member, is uneasy about a war on its borders, fearing social and economic upheaval at home. The country is emerging from its worst recession in decades, and a war could hammer badly needed tourism and trade revenues.
Mr Erdogan must also calm nerves among Turkey's hardline secularist establishment.
Turkey's powerful generals, self-declared guardians of Turkish secularism, pressured the country's first Islamist-led government from power in 1997. The military has staged three outright coups since 1960.
Mr Gul has so far declined to say if he will assume a role in the new government. A ministry in finance or foreign affairs was anticipated but he has hinted he may not take up a cabinet post.