On the 10th April 1998 the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement was signed and referendums on the Agreement were held and passed in both parts of Ireland. Following elections the first power sharing Assembly met in July 1998 but failed to form an executive until December 1999.  It operated intermittently and was suspended on five occasions: the longest from 2002 to 2007. The 6th Assembly was suspended in 2017 and reconvened in January 2020.  Elections were held for a seventh assembly in May 2022. Sinn Féin emerged as the largest party, followed by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

The newly elected assembly met for the first time on 13 May 2022 and again on 30 May. However, at both these meetings, the DUP refused to assent to the election of a speaker which meant that the assembly could not continue other business, including the appointment of a new Executive. 

It took till 30 January 2024 for the leader of the DUP…