New DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has vowed to unite the party after several weeks of turbulence.
Sir Jeffrey also said he expected the Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “right the wrong” of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The Lagan Valley MP was confirmed as new party leader following a meeting of the DUP ruling executive in Belfast.
Sir Jeffrey, the party’s 58-year-old Westminster leader, was the only candidate to put his name forward for the DUP leadership after the dramatic resignation of Edwin Poots earlier this month.
Speaking to the media after he was confirmed as leader, Sir Jeffrey said: “What we have seen tonight is our party coming together, healing, uniting, looking to the future and drawing a line under what has happened in the past.
“I am confident that the party will now build towards the Assembly elections and I intend to work to ensure that once again the Democratic Unionist Party prevails in the election.
“I intend over the coming weeks and months to get out, into and across Northern Ireland, to meet with people, listen to what people have to say, understand their concerns and then we will seek to address those concerns.”
Mr Poots’ demise came only weeks after he narrowly defeated Sir Jeffrey in the leadership contest to succeed Mrs Foster.
Sir Jeffrey said: “There has been a lot of talking, I have spent time over the past few days talking quietly to colleagues, including Edwin (Poots).
Sir Jeffrey also referred to the ongoing row over the Northern Ireland Protocol after a High Court ruling on Wednesday said that it conflicts with legislation that created the United Kingdom but is still lawful.
He said: “I have said to the Prime Minister in the House of Commons that the Protocol doesn’t just impact on trade, it impacts on our constitution. The Government has a duty to put right what has been done.
The new leader has made clear his intent to return from Westminster to assume the First Minister’s job at Stormont.
However, the timeline for that move remains unclear. He would have to trigger a parliamentary by-election in Lagan Valley in order to re-enter the Assembly and it is unclear whether he would want to prompt such a contest in the near future, given the DUP’s recent poor poll ratings.
Sir Jeffrey is due to make his first keynote speech as party leader on Thursday.
