Youngest ever first minister ... and also shortest serving

Some 231 days later he looks set to become the shortest serving first minister with his resignation in protest at the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Political uncertainty has surrounded much of Mr Givan’s time in the office.

When Edwin Poots was elected DUP leader last year, one of his first acts was to appoint his key lieutenant Mr Givan to the role.

But Mr Poots was to remain as leader for just three weeks when he was deposed following an internal party revolt.

His successor as leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, made it clear from the beginning that ultimately he wanted to return to Stormont from Westminster and take up the role of first minister.

But he decided to keep Mr Givan in post in the interim, with Stormont elections set for May this year.

With the party deeply opposed to the so-called Irish Sea border which followed Brexit’s Northern Ireland Protocol, Sir Jeffrey has repeatedly threatened to collapse the Stormont institutions, which would remove Mr Givan from his post.

When Mr Givan became first minister last year, it represented a meteoric rise to the top of the political ranks for the unionist politician, a 40-year-old father of three daughters.

It is understood that he had some reservations about taking on the top job, conscious of the impact on his young family and believing that it may have come too early in his career.

Mr Givan and Mr Poots have a long association. Both represent the Lagan Valley constituency which includes Lisburn. The younger man’s first taste of politics came when working as a part-time assistant in Mr Poots’s constituency and Stormont offices.

Mr Givan was co-opted in 2010 as an MLA at Stormont, replacing Sir Jeffrey, who gave up his Stormont position to concentrate on Westminster.

Mr Givan has made controversial decisions in the past. In 2016, when serving as communities minister, he withdrew funding for an Irish language bursary scheme.

The row occurred days before Martin McGuinness resigned at the height of the botched Renewable Heat Incentive scheme controversy. Devolution remained suspended for three years.

But Mr Givan has also shown he has the ability to reach out to the nationalist community. Earlier in 2016, he visited a GAA club in Lisburn and was photographed trying his hand at Gaelic football.

His ability to co-operate with his political opponents was tested during his time as first minister. He worked with Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill to navigate the response to Covid.