By Ainsley Thomson

Of Dow Jones NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Treasury chief George Osborne will officially begin the search for the next Bank of England governor in the fall, with the successful candidate expected to be announced by the end of the year, people familiar with the matter said Monday.

In a break with tradition, the job will be publicly advertised for the first time, the people said.

Current Governor Mervyn King, who has been in the top job since 2003, will step down next June. As the date of succession draws nearer speculation has increased as to who will replace King, with the Financial Times newspaper last week reporting that Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney had been informally approached to take on the role.

The Canadian central bank and the U.K. Treasury, which has responsibility for appointing the BOE governor, have both denied that Carney has been approached in any way about the job.

But the report drew attention to the process of appointing the next governor and prompted Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, to write to Osborne to ask him to clarify how he intends to choose the next governor.

"There will be a proper process for appointing the next governor," Osborne said Monday. "But that has not begun and will not until the autumn."

Osborne said King still has a quarter of his term left to serve, saying he believed the governor was doing an "excellent job".

"When the time comes, the best person for the job will be appointed, whoever she or he may be," the chancellor said.

In his letter, Tyrie also asked Osborne to reconsider his decision to reject the Treasury Select Committee's request to have a veto on the appointment and dismissal of the BOE governor.

Other names commentators frequently mention as likely contenders for the governor role include deputy BOE governor Paul Tucker, Financial Services Authority chairman Adair Turner, former top U.K. civil servant Gus O'Donnell, and John Vickers, who chaired the Independent Commission on Banking.

-By Ainsley Thomson, Dow Jones Newswires; 44 20 7842 9318; ainsley.thomson@dowjones.com