Zanny Minton Beddoes has been appointed editor of the Economist, the first female to land the role in the publication’s 170-year history.
Beddoes is currently business affairs editor at the Economist having previously been the magazine’s economics editor. In her current role she oversees the weekly’s business, finance, economics, science and technology coverage.
She joined the Economist in 1994 after two years as an economist at the International Monetary Fund.
Beddoes takes up the reins from John Micklethwait who has edited the title for the past nine years.
Beddoes described the weekly as “one of journalism’s great institutions, with an extraordinarily talented staff”.
She starts her new job on 2 February, following the appointment by the Economist Group board.
Rupert Pennant-Rea, chairman of the Economist Group, as well as a former editor of the weekly, said: “She will be a true advocate for The Economist and its values.”
Pennant-Rea described Beddoes as a “fine leader with long experience on the paper” adding he and the board expect her to be “a true advocate for The Economist and its values”.
During his nine years in the editor’s chair, Micklethwait is credited with steering the weekly’s circulation from 1.1m to 1.6m. He is joining Bloomberg News.
Previous incumbents include Alastair Burnet, the former ITN stalwart, who edited the paper between 1965 and 1974 and Bill Emmott, sometime Guardian contributor and international affairs expert who oversaw the weekly between 1993 and 2006.