Mr Wilson narrowly defeated Sinn Fein's Alex Maskey by 26 votes to 24 at Belfast City Council's annual meeting.

The result follows a tense contest which Sinn Fein had hoped to win to secure the mayoralty for a republican candidate for the first time.

However, the defection of Alliance Party councillor Danny Dow, severely dented their hopes. Mr Dow's colleagues had said they would support Sinn Fein.

Mr Wilson, who previously served as lord mayor in 1986, was nominated following a meeting of DUP councillors on Wednesday night.

Following his election, the new lord mayor said nationalists had less to fear from him than unionists had from ongoing terrorist activity.

"I will seek to represent the people of this city as a whole while holding on to my firm unionist principles," he said.