The man in charge of the review of policing in the North has been appointed deputy chief constable of the RUC. Mr Ronnie Flanagan, who has been acting deputy since March, was confirmed in the post at the weekend by the Police Authority for Northern Ireland.
Mr Flanagan, who is in his mid 40s, is a former head of the Special Branch. He was appointed in 1994 after his predecessor was one of 20 police and army intelligence officers killed in the Chinook helicopter crash in Scotland.
Originally from north Belfast, he is married with three children. He joined the RUC in 1970 and rose from constable to superintendent. He has served all over the north, including Belfast and Derry.
In 1990, he was promoted to Chief Superintendent, and seconded to the police staff college in Bramshill in England. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of Assistant Chief Constable in charge of the Complaints and Discipline Branch, then to head of the Belfast urban region.
He became chief of the Special Branch before moving to command support at RUC headquarters in Belfast.