HER appointment has been seen as a boost for women in politics and feminism in general and while I'm delighted to see a woman in the top post it's never safe to assume that one woman's achievements mean the fight for equality is done and dusted.
Margaret Thatcher, the first and to date only female British prime minister, was notoriously hostile to other women in her party.
Rather than encourage them into politics or promote those she felt capable, the 'Iron Lady' climbed the ladder and pulled it up behind her, surrounding herself with compliant men who obeyed her unquestioningly.
I get the sense Arlene Foster is cut from a different cloth and will, while acting as a role model to other women who previously felt nervous about pursuing jobs in government, promote people on merit and for what they bring to the table regardless of gender.
I don't expect as a result of her appointment for there to be any immediate change to the long standing failure to address the issue of reproductive rights for women, or issues such as same sex marriage. I fear those issues will still be left to the courts to decide.
What I do hope is that her appointment will see a new, more mature brand of politics moving away from the tribal issues of flags, parades and revisionism of conflict legacy issues.
Unfortunately for the new leader, this of all years is one in which the past and how we remember it looms large.
Much has been made of Arlene Foster's comments that she would not be attending any Easter Rising events in Dublin, but in fairness few expected her to show up in her Sunday best for any of the set piece commemorative events.
What I would hope is that mature unionism under a new leadership will take note of the historic significance of the centenary by taking part in discussions and debates about how the Rising impacted on the formation of Northern Ireland, the partition of the island and the of conflict that can be traced back to those events 100 years ago.
The DUP leader has indicated she will be happy to attend and discuss the "historical significance" of the Rising.
"I very much enjoy looking at history and looking at what happened in the past", she said this week.
And they are important words. Similarly nationalists need to look at how we view and remember World War One as we approach the anniversary of the Battle of Somme.
Rather than a unionist/loyalist event we should be mindful of the many Catholics who for whatever reason fought and died in that horrific war.
Among them was my own great grandfather Tommy Morris who lies in an unmarked grave in Belguim, his sacrifice erased from family history until very recently due to the stigma that came with fighting for a British king.
We have already seen a change in stance in terms of how nationalists view those who fought for the British in both world wars dating back to 2008 when veteran Sinn Féin member Tom Hartley, during his time as Lord Mayor of Belfast, attended remembrance events.
As a keen historian the now retired politician is helping organise much of the Easter Rising events and has already appealed to unionists to take part in the debate around our shared history.
We have a remarkable year ahead and one that under the seemingly more mature leadership of Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness there is an opportunity to make progress, something that had been sadly lacking in local government for many years.
And while we have a chance to maturely remember, debate and commemorate those events of 100 years ago that had a lasting impact on the Ireland we now live in, the bigger challenge is not joint remembrance of the past but how we look to the future.
Few of us would elect a politician because of their policy on commemorative events but rather their stance on social issues, education, health, economy and employment.
If we can emerge from 2016 in a better place than we entered it on those issues of real importance then it really will be an historic year worthy of remembrance.
