He will take up his post on 20 April and will succeed Professor Sir Graeme Catto.

Professor Rubin is a consultant physician and board member of the Higher Education Funding Council for England and former chairman of the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB).

He was one of three candidates to chair the GMC and beat former civil servant Ann Robinson, who would have been the GMC's first non-doctor chairman in 150 years, and consultant paediatrician Dr John Jenkins.

Professor Rubin, professor of therapeutics at Nottingham University Hospitals, said: ‘It is an honour and a privilege to become chair of the GMC. The next few years for the GMC will be challenging and exciting as we continue to deliver a major agenda of change.

‘The GMC has a hugely important role in maintaining and assuring patient safety through the highest standards in medicine. I am looking forward to working with doctors, patients, employers and educators alike to ensure we continue to fulfil that role.’

neil.durham@haymarket.com

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