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Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill has made history by being appointed Northern Ireland’s first nationalist first minister, with US president Joe Biden commending the region’s political leaders.

A power-sharing government has returned as politicians gathered at Stormont to appoint a series of ministers to the devolved executive, two years after it collapsed over the UK government’s deal with the EU.

The Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) Emma Little-Pengelly will serve as deputy first minister.

Under the Good Friday Agreement, the deputy has an authority equal to that of the first minister.

In her speech, which began in Irish, Ms O’Neill said: “Today opens the door to the future – a shared future.

“I am honoured to stand here as first minister.”

Ms O’Neill said she was addressing an “assembly for all – Catholic, Protestant and dissenter” and that the public was “relying” on the members of Northern Ireland’s elected assembly.

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She added: “We must make power sharing work because collectively, we are charged with leading and delivering for all our people, for every community.”

Ms O’Neill continued: “As an Irish republican I pledge co-operation and genuine honest effort with those colleagues who are British, of a unionist tradition and who cherish the union… Despite our different outlooks and views on the future constitutional position, the public rightly demands that we co-operate, deliver and work together.”

The first minister also acknowledged that the power-sharing coalition will “undoubtedly face great challenges” but vowed to “serve everyone equally”.

Ms O'Neill in the Great Hall at Stormont before being appointed first minister
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Ms O’Neill in the Great Hall at Stormont before being appointed first minister

Ms O’Neill also reflected on the historic significance of her appointment and said: “For the first time ever, a nationalist takes up the position of first minister.

“That such a day would ever come would have been unimaginable to my parents and grandparents’ generation.”

She added: “This place we call home, this place we love, North of Ireland or Northern Ireland, where you can be British, Irish, both or none is a changing portrait.

“Yesterday is gone. My appointment reflects that change.”

Ms O’Neill also spoke about the impact of the UK government’s austerity measures on Northern Ireland, telling the assembly the country “cannot continue to be hamstrung by Tories in London”.

She added: “Tory austerity has badly damaged our public services. They have presided over more than a decade of shame. They have caused real suffering.

“I wish to lead an executive which has the freedom to make our own policy and spending choices.”

Emma Little-Pengelly gives her first speech as deputy first minister
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Emma Little-Pengelly gives her first speech as deputy first minister

Ms Little-Pengelly then gave her speech, in which she recalled witnessing the “absolute devastation” from an IRA bomb.

She said: “Michelle O’Neill and I come from very different backgrounds.

“Regardless of that, for my part, I will work tirelessly to ensure that we can deliver for everyone in Northern Ireland.”

She continued: “As a young girl sitting in Markethill High School almost 30 years ago, I could never have imagined that one day I would have the opportunity to serve in such a way.

“This is a responsibility and an honour that I will never take for granted.”

She continued: “Like so many across this chamber and throughout Northern Ireland, I grew up with conflict.

“As a child of just 11, I stepped outside my Markethill home on a warm August afternoon to the absolute devastation from an IRA bomb.

“Seared within my experience is the haunting wail of alarms and our emergency services, the carpet of glass and debris, the shock, the crying and the panic that shook and destroyed the place I called home.

“As a child, I didn’t understand the politics of it – but I will never forget the fear, the hurt, the anger.”

Ms Little-Pengelly also said the “horror” of the Troubles can never be forgotten but said “while we are shaped by the past, we are not defined by it”.

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DUP accused of ‘monumental climbdown’

Earlier, former DUP leader Edwin Poots was chosen by members of the assembly as its new speaker.

His party had refused to participate in government at Stormont, arguing that post-Brexit arrangements effectively left a trade border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

An agreement a year ago between the UK and the EU, known as the Windsor Framework, eased customs checks and other hurdles but didn’t go far enough for the DUP, which continued its boycott.

However, the DUP has since forged a deal with the UK government on post-Brexit trade, which party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says has effectively removed the so-called Irish Sea trading border.

Sir Jeffrey’s role as party leader and his resignation from the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2022 means he was ineligible to be deputy first minister.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldsonsays the DUP have agreed a deal with the UK government to restore power-sharing
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Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, leader of the DUP


Ms O’Neill said in her speech after being appointed first minister: “We will now begin to seize the considerable opportunities created by the Windsor Framework.

“To use dual market access to grow our exports and attract higher-quality FDI.

“The Windsor Framework also protects the thriving all-Ireland economy, and we must fully realise its huge potential.”

Ms O’Neill’s selection as first minister, made possible after she led Sinn Fein to victory in the 2022 Assembly elections, marks the first time the post has been held by a nationalist committed to seeing Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland united as one country.

US President Joe Biden said on Saturday evening he strongly supported the Assembly’s restoration and commended Northern Ireland’s political leaders.

“As I said when I visited Belfast last year to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, the democratic institutions it established remain critical for the future of Northern Ireland, and a government that finds ways through hard problems together will draw even greater opportunity to Northern Ireland,” he said.

“I look forward to seeing the renewed stability of a power-sharing government that strengthens the peace dividend, restores public services, and continues building on the immense progress of the last decades.”

“I am confident that… Stormont’s restoration will facilitate the critical North-South and East-West relations vital to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, and ensure that Northern Ireland will continue to be vibrant and dynamic, defined by unlimited opportunity for all who call it home.”

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‘Once in a generation moment’: Starmer vows to ‘keep US and Europe together’ amid Russia threat

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US officials heading to Saudi Arabia for Russia-Ukraine peace talks

The prime minister has spoken of a “once in a generation moment” for the UK, US and Europe to work together and warned against NATO “divisions” – as two senior American officials head to Saudi Arabia for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Sir Keir Starmer said the UK will “work to ensure we keep the US and Europe together” amid the threat faced from Russia.

His comments came after the Ukrainian president cautioned: “The old days are over when America supported Europe just because it always had.”

Earlier on Saturday, US officials confirmed Europe would not be involved in the upcoming peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

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Washington also sent a questionnaire to European capitals to ask what they could contribute to security guarantees for Kyiv.

“It’s clear Europe must take on a greater role in NATO,” said Sir Keir on Saturday night.

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“We cannot allow any divisions in the alliance to distract from the external enemies we face.”

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Zelenskyy warns against the ‘danger’ of the Russian army

The French president is thought to be convening crisis talks between European leaders and NATO, which the prime minister will attend.

Sir Keir will then take messages from that meeting to Washington DC when he meets US President Donald Trump the week after, according to Downing Street sources.

During a talk at a security conference in Munich, Poland’s foreign minister Radosław Sikorski said he was “very glad that President Macron has called our leaders to Paris” to discuss “in a very serious fashion” the challenges posed by Mr Trump.

Meanwhile, US national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff are thought to be going to Saudi Arabia for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, according to two sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Sky News’ US partner network NBC News.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump said there had been an agreement to begin negotiations about ending the war in Ukraine, after holding phone calls with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Ukrainian president alluded to the conversations at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, suggesting Europe should be playing a role in the negotiations as well.

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‘We need a European army’

“Ukraine will never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement, and the same rule should apply to all of Europe,” Mr Zelenskyy said.

“The old days are over when America supported Europe just because it always had.”

He told world leaders it is time for the creation of an “armed forces of Europe”, adding his army was “not enough”.

Following his call with President Putin, Mr Trump posted on Truth Social saying: “We both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine.”

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‘Unlikely’ Ukraine gets old borders back

Mr Trump had told White House reporters he did not see any way “that a country in Russia’s position” could allow Ukraine to join NATO and that it was unlikely Ukraine would get all of its occupied land back.

It comes after Sir Keir told Mr Zelenskyy in recent days that Ukraine was still on an “irreversible path” to joining NATO.

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“Russia is really a petrostate,” he said as he suggested Western powers needed to do more to enforce sanctions on Russia.

Mr Zelenskyy said the main issue in peace talks was to “not allow everything to go according to Putin’s plan”.

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