Ian Paisley has formally announced his retirement as MP for North Antrim at a meeting of DUP members in Ballymena during which his son, Ian Paisley Jr, was selected as the party candidate in the forthcoming Westminster elections.
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TUV leader Jim Allister has already announced he will be fighting the election in North Antrim, promising to lead a fierce electoral battle in the unionist heartland.
The general election showdown between Mr Paisley Jr and Mr Allister will have a major bearing on the future direction of unionism.
Ian Paisley Jr, who is a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, said he had been a longtime political representative for north Antrim in his own right and looked forward to the fresh opportunity.
"It is a great honour to have been chosen by my party colleagues to contest this important election for the community," he said.
"For the last 14 years I have been working full-time for the people of North Antrim."
He added: "My campaign will be a positive one. I am seeking to make a further positive and meaningful contribution to the North Antrim constituency."
Mr Paisley, who took the seat in 1970, said his son is the right man for the job.
"No doubt about it", he told UTV Live Tonight.
"He would be a poor son if he didn't because Jim Allister has nothing to present to the people but attacks upon me personally. And that's because I refuse to leave this constituency and fight to East Antrim so as to let him have a free seat."
Mr Allister said: "The selection of Mr Paisley Jr will mean character and the capacity for sound judgement will now be central issues in the North Antrim campaign. This is a man whose flawed judgement is infamous."
Ian Paisley stepped down as First Minister and leader of the DUP in 2008, but continued to represent North Antrim at Stormont and Westminster.
The founder of the DUP, who will be 84 in April, revealed his intention to retire last week, having held his seat for 40 years.
"It was no difficulty for me to stand down because I believe that the work will go on even when I am forgotten because it has been solid work and it has been in a good cause. We have won many and we have lost some but we are still marching on," he told UTV Live Tonight.
"Now is the time for us to press on. I don't know what the alternative is. Those who feel that the alternative is not what we say; they have no alternative at all."
Mr Paisley was also a founding member of the Free Presbyterian Church in Ireland in 1951.
His evangelical theology heavily influenced his political views and throughout the Troubles he forthrightly denounced Catholicism and the papacy.
He was, at first, a fierce critic of power-sharing with nationalists and of the Republic of Ireland having a say in Northern Ireland's affairs.
His decision to accept the position of First Minister alongside Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in 2007 saw him hailed as a peacemaker although former followers also accused him of betrayal.
"I believe I showed the leadership required to get the best possible deal in the circumstances," Mr Paisley said.
"Politically, his legacy tarnishes his very principled stand for many years because his legacy now is of terrorist inclusive government", Mr Allister told UTV last week.
© UTV News