A Catholic educated judge, Sir Brian Kerr, will be the next Lord Chief Justice for Northern Ireland, replacing Sir Robert Carswell, who is appointed as a Lord of Appeal.
Sir Brian, aged 55 and a native of Lurgan, Co Armagh, who has served as a High Court judge for the past 10 years, takes up his position as Lord Chief Justice on January 12th.
He is described by members of the Northern legal profession as "a man of enormous intellect" and "incredibly hard-working", if "rather aloof and cold".
The first Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland was the Catholic unionist, Sir Denis Henry, but it is understood that Sir Brian is the first person from a Catholic background since then to be appointed head of the Northern judiciary.
He was educated at St Colman's College, Newry, and at Queen's University, Belfast. He was called to the bar in Northern Ireland in 1970 and elected a bencher in 1991. He was called to the bar in England by Gray's Inn in 1974 and was elected an honorary bencher in 1997.
He took silk in Northern Ireland in 1983 and was appointed senior crown counsel in 1988. In 1993 he was appointed a High Court judge.
He adjudicated in many controversial hearings, including a bail application for a man accused of killing Belfast solicitor Mr Pat Finucane, and a legal challenge by the DUP to the election of First and Deputy First Ministers during the last assembly.
Two years ago he ruled against the then first minister Mr David Trimble, who had sought to ban Sinn Féin ministers Mr Martin McGuinness and Ms Bairbre de Brún from attending meetings of North-South bodies.
Sir Brian said he was honoured to be appointed. He praised the work of outgoing Lord Chief Justice Carswell.
"There will be many challenges ahead but I look forward to meeting these with the help of all my colleagues at the various judicial tiers. The justice system is in a period of considerable change. As judges we recognise that we must play our part in the implementation of those changes."
Sinn Féin's justice spokesman, Mr Gerry Kelly, welcomed the replacement of Lord Chief Justice Carswell, while the SDLP justice spokesman, Mr Alban Maginness, said: "It is welcome to have a new leadership of the judiciary at a time when important changes are being made to the criminal justice system thanks to the Good Friday agreement."
