Gerald Wayne VandeWalle (born August 15, 1933) is an American lawyer who served as a justice of the

North Dakota Supreme Court The North Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court of law in the state of North Dakota. The Court rules on questions of law in appeals from the state's district courts. Each of the five justices are elected on a no-party ballot for ten year te ...

from 1978 to 2023. He served as the court's chief justice from 1993 to 2019.

Early life and education

VandeWalle was born in

Noonan, North Dakota Noonan is a city in Divide County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 137 at the 2020 census. Noonan was founded in 1907 and named after a family that had business, farm, and coal interests in the area. It was once known as "The W ...

and graduated from the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...

in 1955 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in commerce. While attending the

he joined the

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

fraternity. He then received a Juris Doctor from the

University of North Dakota School of Law The University of North Dakota School of Law is located in Grand Forks, North Dakota at the University of North Dakota (UND) and is the only law school in North Dakota. It was established in 1899. The law school is home to approximately 240 stude ...

in 1958.

Career

In late 2019, VandeWalle announced he would not seek reelection for another term as chief justice, but would remain on the court. He was the longest-serving chief justice in North Dakota history and at the time, the oldest in the nation. He retired from the court on January 31, 2023.

Career

* 1958 – admitted to the State Bar of North Dakota * 1975 – appointed First Assistant Attorney General of North Dakota * August, 1978 – appointed to the North Dakota Supreme Court * November, 1978 – elected to serve an unexpired term on Supreme Court * 1985–1987 – served as the first chair of the North Dakota Judicial Conference * 1993 – elected Chief Justice of North Dakota Supreme Court * 1995 – re-elected Chief Justice * 2000 – re-elected Chief Justice * 2005—re-elected Chief Justice * 2010—re-elected Chief Justice * 2015—re-elected Chief Justice

References

External links

Gerald W. VandeWalle biography
1933 births Living people 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges Chief Justices of the North Dakota Supreme Court Justices of the North Dakota Supreme Court People from Divide County, North Dakota University of North Dakota alumni {{NorthDakota-state-judge-stub