The Department of Health has confirmed that Professor Aidan Halligan has been appointed to run the Health Service Executive.
The HSE is to take over the day to day running of the health service from the department, leaving it to concentrate on policy matters.
The €330,000 a year post will effectively make Prof Halligan the head of the health service.
The Dublin-born professor, who is the current deputy chief medical officer in the UK, will take up the position in April.
Prof Halligan has been heavily involved in the modernisation of the National Health Service in the UK.
He has been a major promoter of clinical governance, which involves ensuring that doctors and other health staff have their performance audited to ensure patient safety.
Prof Halligan is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin. He worked at the Rotunda Hospital in obstetrics and gynaecology before moving to Britain in 1993.
