Northern Ireland power sharing begins

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Source: CCTV.com | 05-09-2007 08:24

Northern Ireland's First Minister Ian Paisley speaks to the media as his wife Eileen looks on outside Stormont Parliament Building in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Tuesday, May 8, 2007. The unopposed election of Democratic Unionist Party chief Paisley and Irish Republican Army veteran Martin McGuinness to lead a new 12-member administration heralded an astonishing new era for Northern Ireland following decades of bloodshed and political stalemate that left 3,700 dead. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

Political rivals from Northern Ireland's troubled past have taken the oath of office as colleagues. It marks the restoration of a power-sharing government.

Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisely was sworn in as Northern Ireland's First Minister in the ceremony at Stormont, the seat of parliament in Belfast.

Ian Paisely said, "Well it's a sad day for those who were the innocent victims of all the troubles we've had. Yet it is a special day because we're making a new beginning."

Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness took the oath as Paisley's First Deputy.

He welcomed all those from across the world who were present to mark the restoration of devolution.

Martin McGuinness said, "I think what people are going to witness today is not hype but history and what we're going to see today is one of the mightiest leaps forward that this process has seen in almost fifteen years."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern were witnessing the revival of the 108-seat Northern Ireland Assembly.

Over the past years, Blair and Ahern have made constant efforts to bring peace to Northern Ireland.

All 12 power-sharing positions were filled on the basis of how many seats each party holds in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Paisley's Democratic Unionists took five Cabinet positions, Sinn Fein four, while the moderate Protestants of the Ulster Unionists received two and the moderate Catholics of the Social Democratic and Labour Party just one.

The first meeting of the new power-sharing executive is due later this week.