Gul was appointed foreign minister in March 2003, following a five-month tenure as prime minister, as Erdogan was constitutionally barred from running for public office when the AKP won the November 2002 parliamentary elections.
Gul je postavljen za ministra inostranih poslova u martu 2003, nakon petomesečnog mandata na mestu premijera, koji je obavljao zato što je Erdoganu ustavom bilo zabranjeno da se kandiduje za javnu funkciju kada je AKP pobedio na parlamentarnim izborima u novembru 2002. godine.