Chief Justice Nels S.D. Peterson was sworn in as Chief Justice on April 1, 2025. Chief Justice Peterson was appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court in 2016, and was elected to full six-year terms in 2018 and 2024. He previously served in a variety of other roles in Georgia state government, including as judge on the Georgia Court of Appeals, general counsel for the University System of Georgia, Georgia’s first solicitor general in the Attorney General’s Office, and executive counsel to the Governor.

Before entering state government, Chief Justice Peterson practiced at King & Spalding LLP in Atlanta and clerked for Chief Judge William H. Pryor Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He is a graduate of Kennesaw State University and Harvard Law School.

Chief Justice Peterson has served on numerous government and non-profit boards and committees, has received a variety of honors and awards. He lives with his wife Jennifer and their two children in Cobb County, and he is an active member of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church.