New Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Photo: AP)

(VOVworld) – Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 60, was sworn in Thursday as the 12^th Turkish President. Erdogan has been the Turkish Prime Minister since 2003 and won the August 10 election with 52 per cent of the vote. The new Turkish President intends to amend the Turkish constitution to grant more power to the Presidency. In his victory speech in Ankara on August 10, Erdogan said Turkey is entering a new era of national reconciliation, when all Turkish people are equal regardless of their origins and beliefs.