BELFAST (AFP) – Michelle O’Neill on Saturday became the first nationalist leader of Northern Ireland’s government, a historic moment for the British territory prompted by the return of power-sharing after the biggest pro-United Kingdom (UK) party ended a two-year boycott.
In a special sitting, the Northern Ireland Assembly first voted to resume devolved governing and then nominated the pro-Irish unity Sinn Fein politician as first minister.
The landmark move follows the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) ending its walkout from the Stormont institutions after striking a deal this week with the UK government over post-Brexit trade rules.
The assembly also appointed the DUP’s Emma Little-Pengelly to be her deputy and filled other top ministerial posts.
Under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement, that ended three decades of sectarian violence over British rule in Northern Ireland, the first minister and deputy first minister posts are equal.
But the appointment of a Roman Catholic, pro-Irish unity first minister in a nation set up as a Protestant-majority state under British rule is hugely symbolic.
It not only reflects Sinn Fein’s position as Northern Ireland’s biggest party but also shifting demographics, since the island of Ireland was split into two self-governing entities in 1921.
“This is an historic day and it does represent a new dawn,” O’Neill told fellow lawmakers shortly after her selection, noting it was “unimaginable to my parents’ and grandparents’ generation”.
“We must never forget all those who have died or been injured or their families,” she said.
“I am sorry for all the lives lost during the conflict without exception,” she said, adding: “I am wholeheartedly committed to continue in the work of reconciliation between all of our people.”
O’Neill takes office facing the pressing problem of fixing budgetary constraints and crumbling public services that have sparked widespread industrial disputes in Northern Ireland.
She has called the assembly’s restoration “a day of optimism” and urged a joint effort to tackle the problems.
