Subject to approval by the Scottish Parliament, Wolffe will take up the position of Lord Advocate, replacing Frank Mulholland QC, who stepped down after the Scottish parliamentary elections.

Senior Advocate Depute Alison Di Rollo will become the new Solicitor General.

Ms Di Rollo succeeds Lesley Thomson who was appointed to the post in 2011 and recently told the First Minister she wanted to pursue new challenges.

The Lord Advocate is a minister of the Scottish Government and acts as principal legal adviser, but decisions about criminal prosecutions and investigation of deaths are taken independently by the Lord Advocate.

The Solicitor General is the Lord Advocate’s deputy and is also a minister of the Scottish Government.

The appointments are officially made by the Queen on the recommendation of the First Minister, with the agreement of the Scottish Parliament.

The appointments, if approved, will complete the First Minister’s newly-appointed ministerial team.

Sturgeon said: “I am extremely pleased to recommend the appointments of James Wolffe and Alison Di Rollo as Scotland’s senior law officers.

“James has an outstanding legal background and extensive experience at all levels, including the House of Lords, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union.

“Alison led the work of the ground-breaking National Sexual Crimes Unit (NSCU) for three years, having previously held the role of deputy. Her outstanding leadership in this most sensitive of areas has inspired confidence in all connected to it.”

Wolffe said: “I thank the First Minister for nominating me to the office of Lord Advocate. If I am appointed, it will be a great privilege to serve Scotland in that role.”

Di Rollo said: “I am both delighted and honoured to be nominated for this role by the First Minister and I am looking forward to working with James in his new role.”

Wolffe became an advocate in 1992 and took silk in 2007. In 2014 he was elected Dean of the Faculty of Advocates.

Di Rollo joined the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in 1985 as a fiscal. She then worked in the Policy Group at the Crown Office prior to being appointed Deputy Head of the High Court Unit and later Head of Operational Policy.

In May 2008, Di Rollo was seconded to take up an appointment as a trial advocate depute. She was appointed as deputy head of the National Sexual Crimes Unit in 2011 and became head of the unit in January 2013.