A new inquest into the deaths of the Liverpool supporters at Sheffield Wednesday's stadium on 15 April 1989 was ordered after the original verdicts were quashed by the High Court in December.
Lord Justice Goldring, who was the senior presiding judge of England and Wales from January 2010 to December 2012, has been appointed as assistant deputy coroner for the inquiry and will decide in due course where the inquests will be held, the Judiciary said.
His appointment comes after ministers changed the law so coroners are no longer required to hold inquests within their own districts, giving Lord Justice Goldring the power to hold the inquest anywhere in England or Wales.
Hillsborough victims' relatives have spoken out against the fresh inquest being held in Sheffield - home of the disaster and the original overturned inquiry.
Hillsborough Family Support Group chair Margaret Aspinall said: "It's important to give us a time schedule, so we can let the families know. I'm sure they will realise the concerns of the families. It's been 24 years - that's a hell of a long time.
"The most important issue is where it's going to be held. The inquest is going to take a long time. Yes, we want it to be thorough but we want it done as quickly as possible.
She added: "A lot of the families have been tormented and we do not want anything more to happen to any of the families before these inquests.
"We have waited 24 years. It is an awful long time for this. It is imperative to get the right verdicts on the death certificates."
The fresh inquest into the disaster was ordered when a panel of three High Court judges, headed by the Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge, quashed the accidental death verdicts.
A damning report laying bare a cover-up which attempted to shift the blame for the tragedy on to its victims was published last September.
A new police investigation, as well as an inquiry by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), are being conducted.
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