For the first time in its long history, The Financial Times will be led by a woman.

On Tuesday, the daily known for its robust coverage of international markets, its distinctive salmon-hued paper and its impenetrable digital paywall announced that Roula Khalaf will be its top editor, starting in January. Ms. Khalaf, a 24-year veteran of the newspaper, which has its headquarters in London, will succeed Lionel Barber, a Financial Times journalist since the 1980s and its editor since 2005.

Mr. Barber, 64, said in an interview Tuesday that he had consulted with the newspaper’s owners about a transition for more than a year. “You mustn’t see this as some kind of ‘woke’ gesture — it’s got nothing to do with that,” he said. “She is one of our most outstanding journalists. She’s been deputy editor for four years, she’s been tested in all sorts of areas, and that’s why she’s the next editor.”

The newspaper, which was founded in 1888 and has a paid circulation of one million, including digital and print subscribers, declined to make Ms. Khalaf available for an interview. In a statement on Tuesday, she said, “It’s a great honor to be appointed editor of The FT, the greatest news organization in the world.”

Born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, and educated in the United States at Syracuse University and Columbia University, Ms. Khalaf has served as the publication’s Middle East editor, foreign editor and deputy editor. Before joining The Financial Times, she wrote for Forbes magazine, where she made waves with a feature article on Jordan Belfort, the shady stockbroker who became known as the wolf in Martin Scorsese’s 2013 film, “The Wolf of Wall Street.” A character based on Ms. Khalaf appears in the movie.