Sir Desmond Rea was tonight elected to serve as Northern Ireland Policing Board chairman for another four years.
He beat off a challenge from Pauline McCabe, a training and business consultant, for the top post on the authority which holds Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde to account.
Barry Gilligan, a wealthy property developer, was elected unopposed as vice-chairman at a meeting of the newly formed board in Limavady, Co Derry.
The 19-member board was reconstituted by Northern Ireland Secretary of State Peter Hain last month, with independents outnumbering politicians.
The shake-up led to Ulster Unionist claims that it had become an unelected quango.
But the party's two representatives, Danny Kennedy and Fred Cobain, attended to give their backing to Sir Des.