For the first time, an Irish nationalist leads Northern Ireland's government

Sinn Fein Vice President Michelle O'Neill walks down steps at Stormont Parliament Buildings in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Saturday. O'Neill made history by becoming the first Irish nationalist leader of Northern Ireland. (Peter Morrison/AP)

LONDON — An Irish nationalist made history Saturday by becoming Northern Ireland's first minister as the government returned to work after a two-year boycott by unionists.

Sinn Fein Vice President Michelle O'Neill was nominated as first minister in the government that under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday peace accord shares power between Northern Ireland's two main communities — British unionists who want to stay in the U.K., and Irish nationalists who seek to unite with Ireland. Northern Ireland was established as a unionist, Protestant-majority part of the U.K. in 1921, following independence for the Republic of Ireland.