THE LEADER of the Welfare Party, Mr Necmettin Erbakan, has become Turkey's first Islamist Prime Minister in the 73 year history of the secular Turkish republic.
"President Suleyman Demirel has ratified Turkey's 54th government formed under the premiership of Necmettin Erbakan," the presidential office said in a statement.
The new government is a coalition between Mr Erbakan's pro Islamic Welfare Party and the conservative True Path Party of the former prime minister, Ms Tansu Ciller.
"I have very good news for you .... a new government has been formed", Mr Erbakan said after meeting Mr Demirel. He read out a list approved by Mr Demirel with himself as Prime Minister and Ms filler as his deputy and Foreign Minister.
The full cabinet is expected to be named today.
"This government will work in harmony and serve all the people", Mr Erbakan (69) told a news conference. "We pledge to make every effort to solve the problems of our country."
The two parties had agreed to a rotating premiership, with Mr Erbakan holding the post first. Ms filler's party also gets the key ministries of defence, interior and education, while the Welfare Party will run the finance ministry.
At a meeting earlier in the day, Mr Erbakan and Ms filler sorted out minor differences and reached full agreement on the formation of the new government.
Mr Erbakan was charged with forming a government on June 7th after a coalition between Ms Ciller's party and its right wing rival, the Motherland Party of Mr Mesut Yilmaz, collapsed in late May.
Turkey has been in political turmoil since December when the pro Islamic Welfare Party emerged as the largest party after parliamentary elections, but without enough seats to form a majority in parliament.
The Islamists have 158 deputies in the 550 seat assembly. The new coalition has the 276 MPs necessary to win a confidence vote in parliament but some deputies in Ms filler's party have said they would not back any deal with the Islamists.
After months of haggling, the secular conservative parties of Ms Ciller and Mr Yilmaz managed to form a coalition government, but the alliance collapsed amid inter rivalry between the leaders and strong opposition from the Welfare Party.
Turkey, a Nato member, has been strictly secular since it was founded by Kemal Ataturk as a modern republic in 1923 after the collapse of the Islamic based Ottoman Empire.