North Antrim Assembly member Robin Swann has been confirmed as the new leader of the Ulster Unionist Party.
He was the sole nominee to replace Mike Nesbitt who announced his intention to vacate the leadership after the party lost six of its 16 Assembly seats in last month's election.
Mr Swann was first elected to Stormont in 2011. He is the fourth leader of the UPP since David Trimble stepped down in 2005.
By retaining its 12 seats in last month's elections, the SDLP replaced the UUP as the third largest Assembly party.
The main unionist party, the DUP, currently has 28 seats, compared to the UUP's ten and the main challenge facing Robin Swann in his new role is to halt the party's decline.
A father-of-two and a former president of Ulster's Young Farmers’ Club, he was officially ratified at the UUP's annual general meeting in Belfast this afternoon.
He has dismissed calls for a single unionist party, saying such a move risked driving unionists into the Alliance Party or leaving them with nobody to vote for.
He also promised his Stormont team would not join the Executive if political agreements were made solely for the DUP and Sinn Féin's benefit.
He said: "A single unionist party would limit choice, stifle debate and quickly result in the depletion of unionist votes at the ballot box.
"I am in the Ulster Unionist Party - we are in the Ulster Unionist Party - because we believe in its vision, its policies and its priorities.
"No other party comes close to representing the brand of unionism that we have and I believe in."
The five main parties have until next Friday, Good Friday, to form a new Executive or direct rule could be reintroduced.
Mr Swann added: "And whilst I do not rule out any possibilities, if these talks end up being talks and agreements made by two parties for the benefit of two parties, then I say let it be an Executive of two parties.
"Standing at the great height of 5ft 3ish, I have had my experiences of people trying to bully me and push me around...
"Trust me - I have never been pushed around, nor do I intend starting to let people push me around, nor will I allow this party to be pushed around.
"This party did not take the leap it did almost 20 years ago to see parties continue in a cycle of never-ending negotiations."
