Bruce will take charge from 1 February, with assistants Steve Agnew and Stephen Clemence taking control until then.

Dutchman Jos Luhukay was dismissed by Wednesday on 21 December after less than a year in charge.

Bruce, 58, previously managed Wednesday's local rivals Sheffield United, as well as fellow Yorkshire clubs Huddersfield Town and Hull City.

He guided Aston Villa to May's Championship play-off final but was sacked in October.

The Owls were unbeaten in four games under caretaker manager Lee Bullen, a sequence which lifted Wednesday up to 16th in the Championship.

Bullen will remain part of the coaching team at Hillsborough.

Experienced Bruce takes charge

Wednesday have turned to experience in the shape of former Manchester United defender Bruce as their successor to Luhukay.

He will be the second person, after Danny Wilson, to manage both Sheffield clubs.

He has taken charge of more than 880 games since starting his managerial career as player-boss of Sheffield United in 1998.

Bruce has proved adept at leading clubs to promotion to the top flight, guiding both Birmingham and Hull to the Premier League twice - winning a play-off final with each club.

However, he narrowly failed to help Aston Villa out of the Championship last season, as they were beaten by Fulham at Wembley.

This season, Villa's hopes of a repeat promotion challenge failed to materialise. Bruce faced the ignominy of having a cabbage thrown at him by a supporter during October's draw against Preston, and was dismissed the following day.

Steve Bruce scores for Manchester United against Sheffield Wednesday in 1993 - his iconic double helped United win the Premier League title that season

As a player, he won three Premier League titles and three FA Cups - including two doubles - with Manchester United.

Bruce played a pivotal role in an iconic game against Sheffield Wednesday, his two late headed goals against the Owls at Old Trafford in April 1993 setting United on their way to their first league title for 26 years.