Michael Gove to become editor-in-chief of The Spectator

He will begin work after receiving final approval from Acoba, the advisory committee on business appointments that advises former ministers taking up jobs after leaving government.

Mr Gove replaces Fraser Nelson, who is stepping down “after 15 hugely successful years”, Mr Sayers said.

Mr Nelson will continue to write for The Spectator and will become deputy editor.

In an article published on Wednesday, externalMr Nelson called Mr Gove the “obvious successor” to replace him.

“He is a first-class journalist who took a short break from politics, and not (as is often the case) the other way around,” he wrote.

“There’s never a good time to leave a job like mine, but after 15 years and a new owner with big ambitions, it’s an obvious time.”

Mr. Nelson oversaw a period of great success for the magazine, including the development of its digital product.

His decision to step down follows Andrew Neil’s departure as president of the magazine earlier this month.

Mr Gove, first elected to Surrey Heath Parliament in 2005, has served in the governments of David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.

He announced his resignation in May amid an exodus of Conservative MPs ahead of the July 4 election.

He takes up a new role as editor of the right-wing magazine as the Conservative Party prepares to elect its new leader.

Earlier this month it was announced that the Spectator had been sold for £100m to Sir Paul via his Old Queen Street (OQS) media group.

He beat out about 20 other bidders to buy the magazine, whose editor-in-chief was former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Sales of the book resumed in April after a bid for the Abu Dhabi-backed newspaper, as well as the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph newspapers, fell through.

This came after the government intervened in January. Soon afterwards, laws were introduced banning foreign countries from owning British newspapers.

Under the agreement, ownership would be transferred to the Gulf-backed Redbird IMI consortium.

The Spectator was founded in 1828, making it one of the oldest politics and current affairs magazines in the world.

Mr Sayers also announced that Charles Moore, former editor-in-chief of the Spectator magazine, would be the non-executive chairman of the magazine’s board.

Mr Sayers said Lord Moore, sitting as an independent peer in the House of Lords, would have the “specific task of protecting the editorial independence and soul of the publication”.