Strathclyde Police chief Stephen House has been appointed to lead Scotland's new single police force.
The Chief Constable will take up the role in the autumn after being selected by the Scottish Police Authority.
Mr House has headed Strathclyde Police since 2007 and previously held senior roles with the Metropolitan Police.
He said: "I am delighted to accept this new and exciting post.
"My views on the creation of a single Police Service of Scotland have been widely publicised, so it gives me great professional pride to be trusted with the responsibility for developing and leading the new service.
"There are changes to make and these will not be easy.
"We need to organise ourselves better. We need to tackle inconsistencies in national systems and procedures while backing the local discretion of commanders to deal with local issues."
The new force will come into operation in April 2013.
