The General Medical Council has named Professor Sir Peter Rubin as the first ever appointed chairman in its 150-year history.

Sir Peter, who has been chair since he was elected to the role in 2009, undertook an open competitive application to retain his position. A panel of four representatives from the GMC and government - chaired by Dame Janet Gaymer, a former commissioner for public appointments - made the decision.

Sir Peter's appointment is part of a modernisation of all healthcare regulators being undertaken after the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) made the recommendation to the government that regulators should have smaller governing bodies. The GMC is a registered charity.

From 1 January 2013, Sir Peter will lead a new team of trustees half the size of its current 24-member board. Rubin, who was knighted in the 2010 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to medicine, will help select the new 12-person board, which will be confirmed in November.

Sir Peter, who is Professor of Therapeutics at the University of Nottingham and honorary consultant physician at Nottingham University Hospitals, said: "I am honoured to continue as chair of the GMC at a time of great change for doctors and patients.

"The GMC plays a critical role in protecting patients and improving medical practice and education. Over the coming months we will push ahead with a major programme of reform - not least with the introduction of revalidation which we expect to start at the end of the year."

Earlier this year the Nursing and Midwifery Council appointed its new chair, Mark Addison.