Paisley's right-hand man takes over

Peter Robinson, 59, today takes over from Ian Paisley as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

On Thursday he is scheduled to replace Mr Paisley as the North's first Minister.

A founding member of the DUP in 1971 and its Deputy Leader since 1980, he is Mr Paisley’s right-hand man.

MP for East Belfast since 1979, he has turned a slender lead into an unassailable majority.

Married to wife Iris, who is MP for Strangford, the couple are Northern Ireland’s only husband and wife team in the Commons. They have three children.

Mr Robinson is renowned as a tough, shrewd political operator, credited with charting the DUP’s rise to become the North’s biggest party.

In 1985 he was among the unionist MPs who resigned their Westminster seats in opposition to the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

Seen as a hard-line figure in the past, in 1986 he led loyalists in a late-night incursion over the Irish border into a Co Monaghan village to highlight lax border security. He was arrested and fined.

Some characterise him as being dour, irritable, but with an impressive mind and a reputation as a hard worker who expects the same from his colleagues.

Despite his tough image, he has also proved to be a pragmatic politician, prepared to do business with republicans.