[1] The post was created by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.
[1] Previously there had been no national head of the coroner service.
The Chief Coroner is appointed by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, in consultation with the Lord Chancellor.
Since 2009, four people have held the position:[1] All four holders of the office were circuit judges sitting in the Crown Court at the time of their appointment.
Two Deputy Chief Coroners were appointed in January 2019: Derek Winter, the Senior Coroner for the Sunderland Coroner Area, and Alexia Durran, a senior circuit judge.