THE REV Ian Paisley is to stand down as Democratic Unionist Party leader and First Minister after 37 years as the sole leader of the DUP and one year as head of the Northern Ireland powersharing Executive, write Gerry Moriartyand Dan Keenan.
Dr Paisley would not name his favoured replacement last night but senior DUP sources were fully confident that there would be a "bloodless succession" with Peter Robinson as new First Minister and DUP leader, and Nigel Dodds as his deputy.
Dr Paisley emphatically stood by his decision to share power with Sinn Féin.
"It was the right thing to do," he said. It would save unionism from an "eventual united Ireland", he added.
Last night Mr Robinson described Dr Paisley as a "unionist colossus" who could be "justifiably proud that today unionist politics and Northern Ireland's position with the union are stronger than at any point during his extraordinary career".
Dr Paisley's retirement had been forecast in recent weeks but his announcement last night that he will quit after the major economic conference in Belfast in May nonetheless was a sharp reminder that the North's political order is changing.
There was a general political acknowledgment last night that this is a watershed moment in modern Northern Ireland politics and that there will be a major "distinction in style" to how Dr Paisley and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness operated and how Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness will work together.
"It will be a machine focused clearly on policy delivery," said a senior DUP figure, indicating that the days of the so-called "Chuckle Brothers" will cease after May. "Different leaders have different styles," he said of Mr Robinson.
The controversy around his son Ian jnr, which forced him to resign as junior minister, and the loss of the Dromore byelection, had brought private but real internal pressure on Dr Paisley to name a date for handing over the unionist reins of power.
Even without this controversy and the byelection, there had been an expectation he would retire this year. These issues, however, are seen as precipitating his announcement, although Dr Paisley denied that this was the case. He indicated he made his decision before the Dromore election and before the controversy around Mr Paisley's political and business dealings had reached crisis point.
"I came to this decision a few weeks ago when I was thinking very much about the [ economic] conference and what was going to come after it.
"I thought that was a marker, a very big marker, and it would be a very appropriate time for me to bow out," he told Ken Reid on UTV's six o'clock news where he first revealed his decision.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern praised Dr Paisley for doing what he believed was right. "Ian Paisley is a giant figure in the history of these islands whose contribution sits with Carson and Craig in the annals of unionist politics," he said.
British prime minister Gordon Brown said "progress on bringing a lasting peace would not have been possible without his immense courage and leadership".
Deputy First Minister Mr McGuinness said: "I will look back fondly on the relationship I had with Ian Paisley over the last 10 months. Ian Paisley was probably the only unionist leader who could have led unionism with such decisive authority, and I think he deserves credit for that."
A leading DUP figure said last night it was "fully expected" Mr Robinson would be elected as only the second leader of the party, shortly after the First Minister left office "at a time of his choosing". He added Mr Dodds would be comfortably chosen as deputy leader in what he believed would be a "unanimous decision".