A former adviser to Tony Blair has been appointed as the new boss of Norfolk County Council.

Dr Wendy Thomson, who is currently a director at McGill University in Canada, will take over as the council's managing director in August.

Her appointment was approved unanimously by councillors at a meeting of the full county council this morning.

Following the decision, council leader George Nobbs called Dr Thomson to pass on his congratulations and welcome her to her new role in Norfolk.

Dr Thomson, 60, has local government experience from posts in the London boroughs of Newham and Islington, has worked for the Audit Commission and the charity Turning Point.

She was also a founding director of the Office of Public Service Reform – a post in which she advised then-prime minister Tony Blair on civil and public service reform, and for which she was made a CBE.

After her nomination last week, Dr Thomson said: 'I am looking forward to joining Norfolk County Council and helping the organisation realise local people's priorities: excellence in education, real jobs and a modern infrastructure to support business development.

'These are tough times for local government but I am up for the challenge and pleased to be returning to England to live in this beautiful county.'

Dr Thomson has had a varied career on both sides of the Atlantic, with executive posts in Canada and then London. She returned to Canada in 2005 to lead the School of Social Work at McGill, taking up a wide range of advisory roles specialising in social policy, health and social services.

Born in Montreal, Quebec, she obtained a masters of social work at McGill University before moving to England to secure a PhD in social administration at the University of Bristol in England.