Robinson named as next first minister of Northern Ireland

PETER Robinson will become the first minister of Northern Ireland when Ian Paisley steps down next month.

Last night, the leader-in-waiting of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), vowed to pursue a "workmanlike" relationship in government with Martin McGuinness, the deputy first minister at Stormont.

Mr Robinson, 59, the MP and MLA for East Belfast, was chosen to lead the party by the DUP's 36-strong Northern Ireland Assembly group yesterday.

After his endorsement, Mr Robinson hinted at a move away from the jovial relationship which led to Mr Paisley and Mr McGuinness being nicknamed "the Chuckle Brothers".

Following a meeting with Brian Cowen, Ireland's Taoiseach-in-waiting, in Belfast, Mr Robinson, who is currently Northern Ireland's finance minister, said: "I work on a regular basis with the deputy first minister. We will do business together in a professional and workmanlike way and hopefully in a productive way that will bring results."

Mr Robinson will be formally declared leader of the DUP at a meeting of the party's 120-member executive on Thursday .

Stormont's economy minister Nigel Dodds, the only man who could have offered a serious leadership challenge, was nominated alongside Mr Robinson as deputy leader-elect, guaranteeing a smooth transition.

They will assume their new posts once Mr Paisley stands down after an investment conference in Belfast next month aimed at US business executives.

Mr Robinson has been his party's deputy leader for 28 years.

In his early days, he was a tough-talking critic of Sinn Fein and the IRA.

However, in recent years he has been credited with shifting the DUP towards an acceptance of power sharing and north-south institutions in return for republican moves to end the IRA's armed campaign, complete disarmament and endorse policing.