Christopher Todd Gilbert (born October 19, 1970) is an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bi ...

currently serving as Speaker of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-number ...

. He has been a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the Virginia House of Delegates since 2006, representing the 15th district in the Shenandoah Valley and

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, made up of

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and Shenandoah Counties, plus parts of Rockingham and

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

Counties.

Early life and education

Gilbert was born in

Newton, Texas Newton is a city in and the county seat of Newton County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,633 at the 2020 census. History Both Newton County and its county seat, Newton, were named after John Newton, a supposed hero of the American ...

. He graduated in 1989 from Central High School in

Woodstock, Virginia Woodstock is a town and the county seat of Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States. It has a population of 5,212 according to the 2017 census. Woodstock comprises 3.2 square miles of incorporated area of the town, and is located along the ...

, where he served as student body president and played three varsity sports. He attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

, where he earned a bachelor's degree in government in 1993. While at UVA, he was a legislative intern in the Capitol Hill office of then U.S. Representative

George Allen George Allen may refer to: Politics and law * George E. Allen (1896–1973), American political operative and one-time head coach of the Cumberland University football team * George Allen (Australian politician) (1800–1877), Mayor of Sydney and ...

. Upon graduation, he attended the

Southern Methodist University School of Law SMU Dedman School of Law, commonly referred to as SMU Law School or Dedman School of Law is a law school located in Dallas, Texas. It was founded in February 1925. SMU Law School is located on the campus of its parent institution, Southern Metho ...

, where he earned his J.D. degree in 1996 and led the student body as president of the Student Bar Association. While at SMU Law, Gilbert won the school's annual mock trial competition and participated on the school's competitive mock trial team.

Early career

Gilbert began his career as a full-time prosecutor. His first job was with the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney for the City of Lynchburg, where he was a member of the Violent Crime Prosecution Team. In 1999, he returned home to work in the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney for Shenandoah County for six years, where he was lead prosecutor in a number of major cases.

Political career

Virginia House of Delegates

Elections

He was first elected to represent the 15th district in the Virginia House of Delegates in 2005.

Tenure

In 2010, Gilbert was appointed to be Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Delegates. Gilbert became the Virginia House of Delegates Majority Leader on January 10, 2018, as Republicans maintained their majority following the

2017 elections The following elections occurred in 2017. Africa *2017 Somali presidential election 8 February 2017 *2017 Gambian parliamentary election 6 April 2017 * 2017 Algerian legislative election 4 May 2017 *2017 Lesotho general election 3 June 2017 *20 ...

. He was chosen by the House Republican Caucus following their decision to promote current House Majority Leader

Kirk Cox Marvin Kirkland Cox (born August 17, 1957) is an American retired politician and educator. A Republican and a former high school teacher, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1990 to 2022, representing the 66th District. From 2018 to ...

to Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. Following the

2019 Virginia House of Delegates election The 2019 Virginia House of Delegates election was held on Tuesday, November 5, 2019, concurrently with the elections for the Senate of Virginia, to elect members to the 161st Virginia General Assembly. All 100 seats in the Virginia House of Del ...

, Gilbert became the Minority Leader-designate following Democrats retaking the majority in the House of Delegates. When the Republicans regained control of the House of Delegates following the 2021 elections, Gilbert became Speaker of the House of Delegates.

Committee assignments

*Agriculture *Finance *Rules

Other assignments

*Virginia State Crime Commission

Personal life

Todd Gilbert is married to Jennifer Wishon Gilbert. He is a member of the First Baptist Church of

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

. Outside of his political functions in Richmond, Gilbert also has a private law practice.

Awards and honors

Some of Gilbert's awards and honors: *Virginia YMCA "Service to Youth Award" *Family Foundation "Legislator of the Year" *Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys "Champion of Justice Award" *Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police "Legislator of the Year" *Virginia State Police Association "Legislator of the Year" *American Conservative Union "Defender of Liberty" *Virginia Chamber of Commerce "Champion of Free Enterprise" *Virginia Chamber of Commerce "Advocate in Legal Reform Award"

Electoral history

Notes

External links

* (campaign finance) * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Todd 1970 births 21st-century American politicians Baptists from Texas Baptists from Virginia Living people People from Mount Jackson, Virginia People from Newton, Texas Southern Methodist University alumni Speakers of the Virginia House of Delegates Republican Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates University of Virginia alumni Virginia lawyers