The identities of the two new junior ministers due to take up office in the department of the North's First and Deputy First Minister were confirmed yesterday.
Mr Dermot Nesbitt, the Ulster Unionist MLA for South Down, will head the economy unit while Mr Dennis Haughey, the SDLP MLA for Mid-Ulster, will take charge of the equality unit. They will work under the supervision of Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon.
The appointments have caused consternation among the other political parties. During an Assembly sitting on Tuesday politicians accused the two larger parties of "carving up" the important jobs between them.
Mr Nesbitt, a strong supporter of Mr Trimble's leadership, stressed yesterday that the central office would face a challenge in bringing a cohesiveness to the North's new governmental structures. Mr Haughey said he was honoured by the appointment. "I am conscious of the honour done to me and even more conscious of the responsibility that now rests upon me in executing the office to which I have now been appointed," he said.
The North's Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, said he felt more confident tackling the tasks facing the central office as a result of the new appointments. "They will be valuable members of the office of the centre. I am very pleased with both their appointments. They are both men of great judgment and much experience," he said.
Mr Trimble said the criticism of the appointments had come from the other parties because they wanted the jobs themselves. He added that it would have been "silly" if a DUP politician had been appointed.
Meanwhile, the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, yesterday launched his party's programme for government.
The launch of the 39-page document was delayed for a week after a bugging device was found in a party car used by Mr Adams during the Mitchell review.
He pledged yesterday that Sinn Fein would bring a "radical all-Ireland voice into the new institutions".
The establishment of a department for children, a department of equality and the production of a White Paper on rural development are policies included in the document.
There are also proposals to remove the Union flag from public buildings and portraits of Queen Elizabeth from the workplace.