London, UK - Ian Paisley, the Protestant clergyman who has towered over Northern Ireland politics for 40 years, announced Tuesday that he will resign as head of his political party and step down as the leader of a power-sharing government he helped shape.
Paisley, 81, has appeared increasingly frail and has lost support among Protestants who oppose joint government with Catholics, but his sudden, low-key announcement took many people by surprise.
His exit, scheduled for May, also appears hastened by allegations of ethical misconduct by his son, Ian Paisley Jr., who resigned as a junior minister in the Northern Ireland government last month following criticism of his lobbying activities and links to a property developer.
For decades, Paisley Sr. was despised by the British province's Catholics. He was known as the man who had vowed "never, never, never" to negotiate with Sinn Fein, the political affiliate of the Irish Republican Army and today the province's largest Catholic party.
But last year he startled many people by playing a key role in creating the joint government with Sinn Fein. The new administration was a landmark step following the 1998 Good Friday agreement that largely ended the sectarian violence responsible for the deaths of more than 3,600 people since 1969.
Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness, who as deputy first minister is the No. 2 leader in the province, praised Paisley's legacy Tuesday, saying that "the historic decision he took to go into government with Sinn Fein has changed the face of Irish politics forever."
When Paisley steps down one year after the power-sharing government began, his Democratic Unionist Party is likely to select Peter Robinson, his deputy, to succeed him. Paisley said he will remain a member of the British Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
"By going now and going quickly, he saved himself from being pushed out," said Adrian Guelke, a professor of comparative politics at Queen's University in Belfast. "There have been a lot of pictures of Paisley and McGuinness smiling, laughing and joking -- they call them the chuckle brothers -- and that has not gone down well" with some Protestants.
Paisley's supporters feel that Paisley "may have to do business with Sinn Fein but his supporters shouldn't be subjected to the idea that he is enjoying it," Guelke said.
The younger Paisley's "financial shenanigans" contributed to his father's exit and a growing sense in Northern Ireland that "as a family, the Paisleys were on the way out," Guelke added.
In announcing his retirement from his leadership role, Paisley told reporters: "It's time to move on. . . . I came to this decision a few weeks ago." He said he thought the right time to leave would be after a major business conference in May designed to draw U.S. investment to Northern Ireland. "I thought that it is a marker, a very big marker, and it would be a very appropriate time for me to bow out."
In January, Paisley resigned as leader of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, which he founded in 1951. He had also come under pressure there from many of his followers, who preferred the old uncompromising Paisley.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown praised Paisley on Tuesday, saying, "The whole country values and admires the manner in which he has led as first minister."
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said he believed that after Paisley steps down, the power-sharing government "will last, because I believe there are very pragmatic people in all of the parties."
"We hope and pray that what has been achieved through the leadership of Dr. Paisley, and others, will continue," the Irish leader said.