Turkey's ruling party on Thursday chose Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to be its new leader and prime minister, to replace Recep Tayyip Erdogan when he takes the presidency next week.

Erdogan -- who has dominated Turkey's political scene for 11 years as prime minister -- announced the decision after an executive committee meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) to decide on his successor.

The press has been abuzz for days with reports that Davutoglu was favoured for promotion to become prime minister under Erdogan's presidency, which begins on August 28 .

Davutoglu has been a loyal servant to Erdogan as an advisor before being promoted to the job of foreign minister in 2009 .

Gul was a co-founder of the AKP with Erdogan but strains have become more apparent between the two men, with Gul taking a more moderate line than the combative premier.

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