Baroness Valerie Amos has been appointed by the Health and Social Care Secretary to lead the national maternity and neonatal investigation.
The review will identify ways to urgently improve care and safety.
Bereaved families expressed a preference for someone with distance from the NHS who is able to bring a fresh pair of eyes to the role.
Health secretary Wes Streeting has been meeting with bereaved and harmed families and has ordered a rapid national investigation, to drive urgent improvements which will address systemic problems dating back over 15 years.
The investigation will look at up to 10 services across the country and review the maternity and neonatal system, bringing together the findings of past reviews into one clear national set of actions. It will begin its work this summer and produce an initial set of national recommendations by December 2025.
Baroness Amos previously served as the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Prior to her UN appointment, she was British High Commissioner to Australia and held senior UK government positions, including Leader of the House of Lords and Lord President of the Council, and Secretary of State for International Development, where she became the first Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) woman to serve as a Cabinet minister. After leaving government, she became the first Black woman to lead a UK university as Director of SOAS, University of London in 2015, and later, in 2020, the first-ever Black head of an Oxford college and first female Master of University College, Oxford.
"Families asked for fresh eyes, independence and compassion - and that’s why I’ve appointed Baroness Amos. Valerie has an outstanding record of leadership and driving change - nationally and internationally. She will work closely with families to uncover the truth, confront problems and drive the improvements needed so every woman and baby receives safe, high-quality care.
"Through our Plan for Change, we will rebuild the NHS to ensure no family suffers like this again."
Baroness Valerie Amos said: "I will carry the weight of the loss suffered by families with me throughout this investigation. I hope that we will be able to provide the answers that families are seeking and support the NHS in identifying areas of care requiring urgent reform."
