Emine Erdogan would not dream of taking off her headscarf just because her husband, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has become the prime minister of Turkey.

But neither does she intend moving around Ankara with a demurely lowered head, seeking an impossible balance between her Islamic faith and the state's strong defence of its secular principles.

Ever since her husband's Justice and Development Party (AKP), a movement with Islamist roots, won the general elections in November, Emine Erdogan has drawn attention to herself with her individual style of dressing.

Her taste might not be to everybody's liking, but it is new for Turkey where headscarves are viewed either as part of traditional rural clothing or as a statement of support for political Islam.

By wearing elegant headscarves, strong colours and intricately-cut long dresses, Mrs. Erdogan, who at 54 is five years older than her husband, shows that religiously-influenced clothes are not necessarily unattractive.

For her first big appearance abroad, when she accompanied her husband to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in late January, she and Hayrunnisa Gul, wife of former prime minister Abdullah Gul, posed for cameras wearing coats with fur collars and a combination of silk headscarves and fashion sunglasses that made headlines in Turkey.

Fashion designer Cengiz Abazoglu was particularly enthusiastic about the fur coat. Some of his colleagues were less impressed.

"She needs professional advice," fashion designer Nur Yerlitas said.

With or without professional advice, even during public appearances in Turkey, Emine Erdogan's outfits often come under the spotlight.

Trying to profit from the media attention, a Turkish clothes manufacturer recently brought out a collection called "Emine Erdogan 2003", said to be in the style of the First Lady.

This immediately triggered a protest from Mrs. Erdogan who had not been informed about the use of her name.

As a 15-year-old girl she had resented the headscarf her brother insisted she wear, she recently said in a newspaper interview.

"I cried for days, even thought about suicide back then," she said.

Only after reading religious books did she decide for herself to wear the headscarf.

But she does not want to press others to do the same"So far it is still unclear how she will handle protocol problems which will undoubtedly occur as it is forbidden to wear the head cover, considered a challenge to the secular state, in public offices in Turkey.

Shortly after the elections, the wife of parliamentary speaker Bulent Arinc created a scandal by wearing a headscarf to an official function.

But Emine Erdogan does not plan just to sit on the sidelines.

She has actively supported her husband's political work for years.

"Lots of people consider her the strongest power behind Tayyip Erdogan," the newspaper Aksam recently wrote.

Mrs. Erdogan played a special role in the Siirt by-election a week ago, when her husband won the parliamentary seat he needed to become prime minister.

Siirt, in eastern Anatolia, is Emine Erdogan's home town and she showed up there to campaign more often than her husband.

The mother of four children, she is also a passionate follower of alternative medicine.

According to Sabah newspaper, a new "official" soft drink will soon be regularly served at the prime minister's office.

Emine Erdogan makes sure her husband regularly drinks lemon juice sweetened with honey, as well as parsley juice, to soothe his throat, strained by too many speeches.

Alcohol, of course, does not enter the Erdogans' home.