A Sinn Féin member will take up the symbolic role of Stormont Assembly speaker in three years after the party struck a deal with the DUP to share the post.
The outgoing speaker, the DUP’s William Hay, was unanimously re-elected to the position during the first plenary session of the new term at Stormont.
He will occupy the speaker’s chair until 2014, when a Sinn Féin MLA will replace him for the remainder of the Assembly mandate.
Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness nominated Foyle MLA Mr Hay, with DUP leader Peter Robinson seconding.
Sinn Féin’s Francie Molloy, Ulster Unionist Roy Beggs and the SDLP’s John Dallat were elected as deputy speakers.
As expected, Mr Robinson and Mr McGuinness were reappointed as First Minister and Deputy First Minister respectively.
Ministers in the new Executive will be appointed on Monday at Stormont.
Under the d’Hondt proportional system of apportioning ministries, the DUP with 38 seats will be entitled to four ministries, excluding the first minister post and a junior ministry. Sinn Féin with 29 seats will have three ministries plus the deputy first minister post and a junior ministry.
With 16 and 14 seats respectively, the UUP and SDLP they each will be entitled to just one department while Alliance with eight seats is likely to have two ministries.
Alliance not only will be due a department under d’Hondt but it is also expected that in a separate cross-community Assembly vote Alliance leader David Ford will be returned as minister of justice for at least another year.