Brendan Barber has been named as the new TUC general secretary.

Barber, who was the deputy general secretary, was widely tipped to take over from John Monks.

He is seen as a continuity candidate and, like his boss, is perceived as a Blairite moderate.

The announcement on Wednesday followed a meeting of the general council where he was nominated by 41 out of 69 unions.

Nominations from trade unions closed on Friday and Barber was the sole candidate.

He has a reputation as "a fixer who excels in smoke-filled rooms" and was described by The Guardian as a man who "reputedly buys his shirts with the sleeves rolled up".

His most recent test has been as a key negotiator between the government and fire fighters' leaders in their current dispute.

Barber is known to have been angered by government's handling of the row.

He was appointed TUC deputy general secretary in October 1993 - a position also previously held by John Monks.

Barber first joined the TUC in 1975 and honed his media-friendly skills as the head of the press and information department from 1979 to 1987.

His time in industry was spent working for the Ceramics, Glass and Mineral Products Industrial Training Board.

He has been a member of the ACAS council since 1995 and is also a member of the board of Sport England.

Barber has signalled, however, that there are problems that the unions had to face up to.

"I'm in no doubt about the scale of the challenges that face the TUC. But I'm in no doubt either about the fundamental and continuing importance of trade unionism in the life of the British people," he said.