Erdogan's son-in-law new finance minister

Turkey's controversial president Tayyip Erdogan has been sworn in for a new term and has vowed to push on with further reform.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, granted new powers, has sworn to protect Turkey at his swearing in. Source: AAP

Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan has been sworn in for a new term, ushering in the executive presidential system he had long campaigned for by putting his son-in-law in charge of the economy and promising greater overhaul of a country he has dominated for 15 years.

Erdogan, the most popular and divisive leader in recent Turkish history, has now formally become the most powerful leader since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded the republic from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire.

"We are leaving behind the system that has in the past cost our country a heavy price in political and economic chaos," Erdogan said.

Under the new system, the post of prime minister has been scrapped and the president selects his own cabinet, regulates ministries and can remove civil servants - all without parliamentary approval.

Western allies and rights group decry what they say is increasing authoritarianism and a push toward one-man rule.

Turkey has detained 160,000 people, jailed journalists and shut down dozens of media outlets since an attempted coup in 2016.

The government says its measures are necessary given the security situation.