# Theodora Gaïtas *American lawyer and jurist; chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court from 2026* Theodora Gaïtas (born 1970 or 1971) is an American lawyer and jurist who has been chief justice of the [[Minnesota Supreme Court]] since October 1, 2026. She was previously a district court judge in the Fourth Judicial District ([[Hennepin County District Court]]) from 2018 to 2020, a judge of the [[Minnesota Court of Appeals]] from 2020 to 2024, and an associate justice of the Supreme Court from 2024 to 2026.[^1] Two governors appointed her to these posts. [[Mark Dayton]] named her to the district court, and [[Tim Walz]] appointed her to the Court of Appeals, to the Supreme Court and to the office of chief justice.[^1] Her Wikipedia biography says she is the second person to have been a judge at all three levels of Minnesota's courts, after [[Wilhelmina Wright]]. It also says she is the first person to have served at all three levels and as chief justice. No official appointment or court record in this article's sources confirms that comparison.[^1] ## Education Gaïtas went to the American Community School of Athens from elementary school through high school and finished there in 1987.[^1] She received a bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, from the [[University of Minnesota]] in 1991. In 1994 she received her law degree (J.D.), cum laude, from the [[University of Minnesota Law School]].[^1] ## Career While a law student, Gaïtas clerked in the [[Hennepin County Attorney's Office]]. Her first post after law school was as a public defender in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, from 1994 to 1996.[^1] She came back to Minnesota in 1996 to clerk for Judge [[Robert H. Schumacher]] of the Court of Appeals. From 1998 to 2013 she was an assistant public defender with the Office of the Minnesota Appellate Public Defender. From 2013 to 2018 she practised privately at Matonich Law.[^1] Dayton, then [[governor]], named her to the Fourth Judicial District bench in 2018. Her district court tenure ran from September 12, 2018, to August 24, 2020.[^1] Walz appointed her to the Court of Appeals in May 2020, and she joined that court on August 24, 2020, in the seat previously held by [[John Rodenberg]]. She was elected to it in 2022 and served until 2024, when Elizabeth Bentley succeeded her.[^1] On April 22, 2024, Walz announced that he intended to appoint her to the Supreme Court, and she took the oath as an associate justice on August 1, 2024.[^1] On May 19, 2026, he announced his intent to make her chief justice of Minnesota, and she assumed that office on October 1, 2026.[^1] ## Personal life Gaïtas was born in Minnesota to a Greek immigrant father and an American mother. She grew up in Athens and came back to Minnesota for college.[^1] Her husband, Chris Sur, died in 2023, and the couple had a daughter.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *Theodora Gaïtas* (revision 1378837566, retrieved 2026-10-26) — birth years, education, career posts and dates, appointing governors, successors and personal life as stated in the cached article. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodora_Ga%C3%AFtas