North has had a long history in English domestic cricket having played for six county teams and, since 2018, been director of cricket at Durham where he worked alongside England Test captain Ben Stokes.
England selectors have been criticised by some pundits for ignoring county form when picking who plays for the national team, so that might have been a factor behind North's appointment following the embarrassing 4-1 loss to Australia in the Ashes.
England already has a foreign-born head coach in Brendon McCullum.
North replaces Luke Wright after his three years in the role and will will contribute to the selection of all England men's squads from the senior teams through to youth programs.
He emerged as the top candidate from a field that included the likes of Steven Finn, Darren Gough and Nick Knight.
North joins a panel that includes McCullum, captains Stokes and Harry Brook, managing director Rob Key, performance director Ed Barney and identification lead David Court.
"It is a tremendous honour to be entrusted with a role of such responsibility and I am excited to contribute to the continued development of the England men's teams," said North.
"Having spent the past several years working closely within the county game, I have seen first-hand the strength and depth of talent across the domestic system. I'm looking forward to working closely with the counties in identifying, supporting and selecting players who can thrive at international level.
"The opportunity to help shape the future of England men's teams is one I'm incredibly passionate about."
Welcoming the appointment, Key added: "Marcus stood out through his knowledge of the domestic game, his experience across different environments and the relationships he has built throughout county cricket over a long period of time.
"Marcus also brings international pedigree from his time playing for Australia, and we believe his experience and understanding of the player pathway and high-performance environment will be a real asset."
Changes were inevitable in England's Test team after the McCullum-Stokes era hit a new low in the most recent Ashes.
There is a fresh look to the squad ahead of the three-Test home series against New Zealand, with opener Zak Crawley and No.3 Ollie Pope dropped for the first Test starting June 4 and three uncapped players selected.
Two of them are opener Emilio Gay, who has been playing limited-overs internationals for Italy - where his mother was born - over the past two years, and wicketkeeper-batter James Rew.
With Chris Woakes joining James Anderson and Stuart Broad into retirement, Mark Wood and Brydon Carse injured, and Jofra Archer unavailable because of T20 commitments, England's fast-bowling stocks are currently low.
Matthew Fisher, whose sole Test appearance came in 2022, was called up along with 23-year-old Sonny Baker, the third uncapped player in the squad. Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue are the more senior pace options.
FIRST TEST SQUAD: Ben Stokes (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, James Rew, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue.
with PA
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