In a moment of immense historical significance, the leaders of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Ian Paisley, and Sinn Féin, Gerry Adams, sat alongside each other for the first time on 26 March 2007 and publicly announced their agreement to form a power-sharing government in Northern Ireland.

The private negotiating session that preceded the announcement was the first time the two parties had ever held direct talks. A target date of 8 May was set for the restoration of devolved government – which had been suspended for five years.

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The Northern Ireland Assembly, created by the Good Friday Agreement (GFA), met for the first time on 1 July 1998.

The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader David Trimble and Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) deputy leader Seamus Mallon were elected as first minister and deputy first minister respectively. Devolution gave the assembly and executive full legislative and executive authority in Northern Ireland over agriculture, economic development, education, the environment, health and social services.

As in previous decades, the Democratic Unionist Party remained the primary political vehicle for unionists opposed to power-sharing.

The Northern Ireland Assembly was suspended on 14 October 2002, following allegations about an IRA spy-ring within Stormont. The legislature had been suspended on previous occasions because the unionist parties refused to participate without additional reassurances about the republicans’ renunciation of violence.

The DUP emerged as the largest unionist party in the 2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election. Sinn Féin simultaneously supplanted the SDLP as the predominant representative of nationalism in Northern Ireland.

Adams and Paisley’s meeting in March 2007 was the culmination of the process set out in the St Andrews Agreement of 2006 and came after Sinn Féin took the crucial step of formally endorsing the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

The Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006 stated that, in the wake of an assembly election on 7 March 2007, ministerial offices need to be apportioned by 26 March. The meeting of Paisley and Adams, therefore, came just hours ahead of the deadline set out by the British and Irish governments. In the event that Paisley and Adams could not come to an agreement, the act outlined the result: the indefinite suspension of the devolved institutions.

Announcing the deal at a news conference, Paisley said the goal was to see “devolution returned in a context where it can make a real, meaningful improvement in the lives of all the people of this part of the United Kingdom.”

He added: “On Saturday, the DUP executive overwhelmingly endorsed a motion committing our party to support and participate fully in government in May of this year – this is a binding resolution.”

Adams, wearing his Easter lily to commemorate those who died in the 1916 Easter Rising, hoped the accord would mark “the beginning of a new era of politics on this island”.

He said: “I believe the agreement reached between Sinn Fein and the DUP – including the unequivocal commitment made by their party executive and reiterated today – to the restoration of political institutions on 8 May marks the beginning of a new era of politics on this island…

“We have all come a very long way in the process of peace making and national reconciliation. We are very conscious of the many people who have suffered. We owe it to them to build the best future possible. It is a time for generosity, a time to be mindful of the common good and of the future of all our people.”

Tony Blair, the prime minister, hailed the accord, commenting: “This is a very important day for the people of Northern Ireland but also for the people and the history of these islands…

“In a sense, everything we have done over the last ten years has been a preparation for this moment, because the people of Northern Ireland have spoken through the election.”

Bertie Ahern, the Irish Taoiseach, called the developments “unprecedented and very positive”.

On 8 May 2007, Paisley was sworn in as first minister and Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness as deputy first minister, ushering in a new era of devolved government.

McGuinness and Paisley, once sworn enemies, ultimately forged an unlikely friendship. They were christened “the chuckle brothers” on account of their shared sense of humour. In November 2007, McGuiness referred to his and Paisley’s “cordial and civilised” relationship

He said: “There is a transformed political situation and he and I are now working together.

“We have been discussing important issues together and are taking important decisions together and we are doing so in a very cordial and civilised atmosphere.”

On 8 December, during a meeting with US president George W Bush in the White House, McGuinness told the press: “Up until the 26 March this year, Ian Paisley and I never had a conversation about anything – not even about the weather – and now we have worked very closely together over the last seven months and there’s been no angry words between us.

“This shows we are set for a new course.”

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This move cemented the DUP’s transition from a party of protest to a party of government. However, it also sparked a backlash among the unionist community and those who remained vehemently opposed to power-sharing with nationalist parties.

On 27 March 2007 , Allister, a longstanding DUP operator and Paisley ally, resigned from the party. In a statement, Allister said that Sinn Féin was “not fit for government”.

He declared: “To continue as the DUP’s MEP, it would be my obligation to accept the party executive policy decision to usher Sinn Fein into government in a few short weeks.

“This, in conscience, I cannot do. Thus, I must resign from the DUP. Sinn Fein, in my view, is not fit for government. Nor can it be in a few weeks.”

He added: “I have fought a protracted battle within the party over recent months against a premature DUP/Sinn Féin government.

“I now have to accept that this battle is lost.”

Allister was involved in DUP politics from the party’s foundation in 1971, having initially defected from the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). He served as a DUP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for North Antrim from 1982 to 1986, acting as the party’s chief whip, and as a European Parliament assistant to DUP co-founder and longtime leader Ian Paisley from 1980 to 1982.

The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) was officially formed on 7 December 2007 with Allister as leader.

In an early party pamphlet, the TUV argued that now “the two unionist parties [UUP and DUP] are enthusiastically working and implementing the truth about the Belfast Agreement, Unionists who reject its architecture, structures and trajectory are disenfranchised.”

The party added: “Traditional unionist principles have been abandoned. Hence, the need for a new movement to give voice to their convictions and viewpoint.”

The party’s electoral baptism was provided by the Dromore council by-election in February 2008. In traditional unionist territory, the DUP won 1069 votes, and the UUP won 912 votes. Allister’s TUV won 739 votes. However, under the single transferable vote system, it was the UUP who ultimately emerged on top once “transfers” were counted. Allister, having raided the DUP vote, argued that the result was a “thumping vote of no confidence for the chuckle coalition [the Paisley-McGuinness leadership at Stormont].”

The TUV therefore established itself as a more hard-line alternative to the DUP.

An electoral breakthrough for the TUV came with the 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election, when Allister won a seat in the North Antrim constituency. Allister previously stood unsuccessfully as the TUV candidate for North Antrim in the 2010 UK general election, finishing second to the DUP incumbent, Ian Paisley Jr, on 7,114 votes (16.8%).