 |
|
President Sezer "has given me the task of forming the 58th government of Turkey," says Gul
|
ANKARA,
November 16 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Abdullah Gul, the deputy
chairman of Turkey's election-winning Justice and Development Party
(AKP), on Saturday, November 16, announced he had been appointed prime
minister by Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
"The
president has shown kindness and placed his trust in me and has given me
the task of forming the 58th government of
Turkey
," Gul told reporters after meeting President Sezer at the
presidential palace, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Gul
said he would draw up his cabinet list and submit it to Sezer after
consultation with party officials and AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
who is legally barred from becoming prime minister.
"It
will not be delayed. It could be ready by Monday (November 18)," he
said, speaking of the cabinet list.
Sezer
summoned Gul earlier in the day to the presidential palace, his office
said in a statement.
Gul,
52, was on a short list of candidates for the premiership post handed to
Sezer by Erdogan on Friday, November 15.
The
AKP won a landslide victory in the November 3 general election and an
outright majority, with 363 of the 550 seats, in parliament.
It
is now poised to set up the country's first one-party government in over
a decade, following a succession of coalition governments which all
collapsed before the end of their five-year mandate.
Traditionally,
the president appoints the leader of the largest party in parliament to
form the government, but the 48-year-old Erdogan cannot hold the post
because he was banned form running for parliamentary elections.
Since
his party's election victory, Erdogan has insisted that the new
government would give priority to
Ankara
's lagging bid to join the European Union.
The
soft-spoken and cheerful Gul is an economist whose pro-western tone
reflects his position as a leading moderate.
The
deputy leader of the AKP will take over as prime minister just five
years after
Turkey
's first Islamist government, to which he belonged, was forced out by
the powerful military.
But
Gul and his colleagues have since turned a new leaf, with the
52-year-old playing a leading role in setting up the AKP last year, in
opposition to more traditionalist wings of the Islamist movement.
"We
have rationalized, upgraded ourselves. We recognized the
realities," Gul told AFP in a recent interview.
Gul
is the most senior deputy to Erdogan but rejects suggestions he will be
Erdogan's "puppet" at the helm of the government.
"Remote
control is not possible. Erdogan himself does not like it. We are going
to run the country and the expectations are very high. This is no
joke," he said.
Throughout
his career, Gul has acted as an emissary to
Turkey
's western allies and has built close ties with the diplomatic community
in
Ankara
.
Gul
has maintained a pro-western stance and sought to cooperate with
Turkey
's secularist establishment, an attitude seen as a major factor in his
nomination.
Born
in 1950 in the conservative city of
Kayseri
, Gul joined the movement of Necmettin Erbakan in his youth.
He
studied economics and received a PhD in
Istanbul
, while also taking part in academic programs in
Britain
.
After
returning home, he became a university lecturer.
But
he was soon packing his bags again, this time to head East -- to
Saudi Arabia
-- where he worked for seven years at the Jeddah-based Islamic
Development Bank.
Political
ambitions drove him back home and in 1991 he became a member of
parliament from Erbakan's Welfare Party.
When
Welfare won the 1995 elections, Gul was named minister of state for
foreign relations in what was
Turkey
's first Islamist-led government.
But
the army soon lost patience with Erbakan's pro-Islamic policies and
launched a harsh anti-Islamist campaign that forced Erbakan to resign
after only a year in office.
Welfare
was outlawed and its MPs formed the Virtue Party which was outlawed last
year.
|
|
Iraq:
- Iraq Urges India to Protect its
Sovereignty
- Denial Of Access By Iraq Would Be "Very Serious": Blix
- If Honest, Arms Experts Will Find Iraq Disarmed: Baghdad
- First U.N. Weapons Inspections in Iraq Nov 27: Blix
- Straw Blames British Imperialism for Middle East Woes
- Iraq Ready for Inspectors, Skeptical Washington Waylays
Ramadan
-
New Muslims Enjoy Peace, Serenity
of Ramadan Fast
-
Ramadan in Malaysia Good for Business
-
“Sharon” Dates &
“Intifada” Ramadan Lamps in Egypt
-
Muslims Need Strong Soup to
Survive Fasting in Cold Russia
-
Unseemly
Controversy over Control of Sikh Shrines in India
-
Two Arrested, Released in Connection with Hindu Suicide Squad
-
After
Increasing Tensions, U.S. Reviewing Aid to Egypt: Report
- Suspect Did Not Plant Bali Bombs: Lawyer
- Russian General Killed In Ambush By Chechen Fighters In Grozny
- Sezer Names AKP Deputy Chairman Prime Minister
- Democracy Restored in Pakistan
- Carter Calls for U.S. Disarmament
Palestine:
- Hebron Attack Not Related to Fatah's Truce Efforts: Jihad
- Israel Kills Son of Jihad Leader in Jenin, Woman in Nablus
- 11 Israeli Settlers, Soldiers Killed, 15 Wounded in A Resistance Attack
- Israel Slays Palestinian Children: New York Times
- Fatah Says It Approves Ceasefire Plan, Hamas Denies
- Israel Kills Two Palestinians, Abducts 35 in Nablus
-
Chechen
War Reaches Moscow
-
World
Wide War
-
Invasion
into Gaza
-
Arafat
HQ Destroyed… In Pictures
-
Homeless in Minutes
-
War on Iraq.. World Reaction
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
