Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken his oath to be sworn in as Turkey’s president for an unprecedented third time.
Mr Erdogan won another five-year term after a run-off with opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu last week.
Neither candidate had failed to reach the 50% threshold on 14 May, but the second round two weeks later saw Mr Erdogan secure 52.1%.
The 69-year-old was sworn in at the Turkish parliament in Ankara on Saturday ahead of a separate inauguration ceremony at the mausoleum – the founder of modern Turkey, attended by foreign dignitaries.
This makes him the longest-serving leader in Turkey’s history – having served as prime minister for his AK party since 2002.
He will announce his new cabinet later this weekend.
Mr Erdogan’s re-election has profound consequences for the rest of the world.
Turkey’s strategic location on the border of Europe, Asia and the Middle East gives it considerable influence.
Despite being a member of NATO, under Mr Erdogan’s leadership it has maintained relations with Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Since the invasion of Ukraine last February, Turkey has emerged as a key negotiator – particularly of Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea.
February’s earthquake on the Turkey-Syrian border has also seen an overwhelming increase in refugees arriving from the war-torn country.
As a non-EU nation, it has maintained an open-border policy with Syria, but this is now being tested by the disaster.
Domestically, Mr Erdogan’s authoritarian policies are putting added pressure on the cost of living crisis, which has sent inflation spiralling.
Sky News
