Peter Robinson has been elected Northern Ireland First Minister with Sinn Féin's Martin Mc Guinness remaining Deputy First Minister.
An Assembly session at Stormont began shortly after 3.30pm with leaders of all the main parties paying tribute to the retiring First Minister Ian Paisley.
Mr Paisley, as DUP nominating officer, put forward Peter Robinson as his party's nominee for First Minister. Sinn Féin's nominating officer, Gerry Adams, said Martin Mc Guinness was the party's choice for the Deputy First Minister role.
New DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds was absent from the chamber, following the death of of his father, Joe.
An earlier row, which threatened the future of the power-sharing assembly, was resolved after tension between Sinn Féin and the DUP eased.
The row between the two parties is thought to have been prompted by a number of contentious policy issues, such as the devolution of justice and policing, reform of the education system and a proposed Irish Language Act.
Sinn Féin decided to bring matters to a head as Mr Robinson prepared to replace Mr Paisley as First Minister and there was a danger the manufactured crisis would topple the administration.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and Irish and British diplomats were brought into the row.
It ended with statements from Dublin, London, plus Sinn Féin and the DUP confirming a solution had been found.
Mr Brown will hold talks with Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness in London on Friday and discuss a mechanism to sort out contentious issues.
