The Turkish parliament has elected Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as president following months of tension.
The election makes Mr Gul the first head of state with an Islamist past in the history of the secular republic.
His election is a major victory for the ruling Islamist-rooted AKP party against army-backed secularist forces who had blocked the minister's first bid for the presidency in April on grounds of his Islamist roots.
The standoff sparked a political crisis that led to early elections in July. The AKP won those polls convincingly, and again nominated Mr Gul for the post of president.
Turkey's head of state is largely a ceremonial figure, but the president is the commander-in-chief of the Turkish army.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that the election of Abdullah Gul as Turkey's new president could provide fresh impetus to Ankara's EU membership talks.
In a statement this afternoon, Mr Barroso said that it provides an opportunity to give fresh, immediate and positive impetus to the accession process to the European Union through progress in a number of key areas.
