TURKEY:Turkey's foreign minister Abdullah Gul, a practising Muslim and former Islamist, was yesterday sworn in as the 11th president of the staunchly secular republic in a move that will be seen as a defining moment for the country.
Mr Gul's ascent to the post came after 339 MPs - two short of the ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development (AK) party's presence in the 550-seat parliament - voted for the British-educated economist, in the third round of a presidential election that required a simple majority to clinch the job.
The appointment of the 56-year-old, who played a major part in the rise of political Islam during the 1990s, marked a victory for the governing Muslim democrats over the military and bureaucratic elite that has controlled the country since its modern foundation 84 years ago.
For the first time, prayer mats will enter the presidential palace and, even more scandalously for secularists, so will a headscarf-wearing first lady in the form of Hayrunisa Gul, the new president's equally pious wife.
Within minutes of being sworn in, Mr Gul vowed to remain neutral. "Secularism - one of the main principles of our republic - is a precondition for social peace as much as it is a liberating model for different lifestyles," he said. "As long as I am in office, I will embrace all our citizens without bias. I will preserve my impartiality with the greatest of care."
Mr Gul, who has won plaudits for his handling of Turkey's bid to join the EU, said it was vital that the predominantly Muslim state push ahead with modernising reforms - a sign that he will be an active president and promote Turkey's role in the world.
Mr Gul is also expected to leave the AK party, which he helped found, to impress his declared aim of impartiality on sceptics. Three months ago, Turkey was thrown into political crisis after Mr Gul was nominated for the job by his ally, the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The prospect of the affable anglophile being elected to the position - which carries immense veto powers - prompted an outpouring of vitriol, exposing the hatred between secularists and more religious-minded Turks, and pushing millions of protesters onto the streets after the army threatened to intervene.
To end the crisis, the mildly Islamic Justice and Development (AK) party called early elections, a gambit that paid off when it was returned to power with a resounding 47 per cent of the vote last month.
The election has been seen as a test case of the army's respect for democratic processes. But highlighting the polarisation that Mr Gul's candidacy has caused - and fears that the neo-Islamists are bent on dismantling Turkey's secular foundations - the head of the armed forces, Gen Yasar Buyukanit, again warned of the threat to secularism by "centres of evil" on the eve of the ballot. The warning was interpreted as proof that Turkey's generals will not stand by if the president chips away at the divide between state and religion.