Mike Nesbitt will be the new leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) after he was the only declared candidate when nominations closed.
Mr Nesbitt, 67, who is currently Northern Ireland's health minister, will be formally ratified as leader at an extraordinary general meeting of the party on 14 September.
Doug Beattie quit as UUP leader last week after a dispute with party officers.
After nominations to succeed him closed at 4.40pm on Friday, Mr Nesbitt was the only party member who had put his name forward.
He has received the required 35 signatures from nine constituencies across Northern Ireland.
Mr Nesbitt said he feels "very confident" that he has got the support of "the vast majority if not all" of the UUP's elected representatives.
He declined to say whether outgoing leader Doug Beattie has backed him, adding: "I'm not going to discuss Doug because I know Colum (Eastwood) has made clear he wants Claire (Hanna) to take over the SDLP, but there's a long-standing tradition in our party that an outgoing leader does not try and influence the decision of the party as to who should be the successor."
He added: "I'm more than happy to come back into the role. I didn't know what I was letting myself in for in 2012, I do now and I am confident that I can do a job for the Ulster Unionist Party, for the people who vote for us and more generally for the people of Northern Ireland."
The Strangford MLA, a former broadcast journalist, will become the first person to lead the unionist party twice.
He was leader between 2012 and 2017 but quit following a difficult Northern Ireland Assembly election result.
Mr Beattie cited "irreconcilable differences" with party officers as he announced his shock departure on 19 August.
The Upper Bann Assembly member and decorated Army veteran was elected UUP leader in 2021.
Mr Beattie’s resignation came after what was a relatively positive General Election result for the UUP, with the party securing a Westminster seat for the first time since 2017.
However, an internal row over the process to select the Stormont Assembly replacement for the party’s new MP Robin Swann ultimately led to Mr Beattie’s resignation.
