AFTER spending almost his whole working life in the DUP, Paul Givan's loyalty to the party and former boss Edwin Poots has paid off.
The new First Minister designate is an impeccable party man who comes from a family steeped in DUP politics.
The 39-year-old was made in the traditional DUP mould - a Free Presbyterian and staunch social conservative from the Ian Paisley Snr wing of the party.
His father Alan, a former prison officer, is a DUP councillor in Lisburn while his grandfather Herbie was one of the party's first members.
Read More: Paul Givan may have been nominated as First Minister 'too early', his father says
Mr Givan said it was hearing the late Mr Paisley Snr speak at an anti-Good Friday Agreement rally in Kilkeel, Co Down, which pushed him into politics.
He has a close relationship with fellow Lagan Valley MLA Edwin Poots and backed his leadership campaign.
A creationist, Mr Givan agrees with his party leader's view that the earth is only a few thousand years old. He is also strongly opposed to the extension of abortion provision in the north and has taken a Private Member's Bill which seeks to prevent abortions in cases of non-fatal disabilities.
Married with three daughters, he first worked as an assistant for Mr Poots and became a special adviser.
When Mr Poots was sacked as culture minister in 2008, Mr Givan temporarily lost his job and found himself in the unusual position for a DUP member of manning a stand for a trade organisation at the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis in Dublin.
However, he returned to Stormont the following year when Mr Poots became environment minister in 2009.
He was co-opted in 2010 as an MLA for the Lagan Valley constituency, replacing the local MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.
Appointed communities minister in May 2016, he proved a divisive figure and became embroiled in several controversies.
He faced criticism in July that year for lighting an Eleventh Night bonfire in south Tyrone.
He defended his actions, saying it did not have any effigies, tricolours or election posters on it.
Mr Givan also faced criticism for reinstating a grants scheme for marching bands worth £300,000 at a time of cuts in the arts sector.
His actions were later contrasted with his decision to scrap the Líofa scheme which distributed bursaries worth £50,000 aimed at helping people improve their Irish language skills in the Donegal gaeltacht.
Branded an "ignoramus" by Gerry Adams, he later reinstated the scheme, saying that he did not want Sinn Féin to use it as a "political weapon".
However, his U-turn was too late and he was partly blamed for the collapse of the devolved institutions four years ago.
The Líofa funding cut just before Christmas 2016 was described by Sinn Féin as "the straw that broke the camel's back" in relation to Martin McGuinness's decision to resign as Deputy First Minister.
