Former top civil servant Dr Don Thornhill will be the new chairman of the National Competitiveness Council (NCC).

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin, yesterday announced Dr Thornhill's appointment, along with that of four new council members.

The new members are Thia Hennessy, an economist with agricultural research and training body, Teagasc; Patrick O'Brien, a partner with commercial law firm, Arthur Cox; Paul Sweeney, economic adviser to the Irish Council of Trade Unions (ICTU), and Pat Delaney, director of the Small Firms Association (SFA).

Dr Thornhill succeeds William Burgess, who retired as NCC chairman last year.

Dr Thornhill recently stepped down as chairman of the Higher Education Authority (HEA).

Before that, he served as secretary general of the Department of Education and Science between 1993 and 1998.

During this time he oversaw a number of developments, including the Schools IT 2000 programme, several key pieces of legislation, and the introduction of the Leaving Certificate Applied programme.

He holds a doctorate in science from University College Dublin.

Dr Thornhill is also a member of the Irish Management Institute, development body Forfás, Science Foundation Ireland and the Fulbright Commission.