List of presidents of the Virginia Bar Association explained

Post:	President
Body:	the Virginia Bar Association
Insignia:	Virginia Bar Association seal.png
Insigniasize:	150px
Insigniacaption:	Seal of the VBA
Incumbentsince:	January 21, 2023
Member Of:	Virginia Bar Association
Nominator:	Board of Governors
Appointer:	Direct popular vote by the members of the association
Termlength:	One year
Constituting Instrument:	Bylaws of The Virginia Bar Association^[1]
First:	William J. Robertson

The president of The Virginia Bar Association is the chief executive officer of the Virginia Bar Association (VBA), the Commonwealth's voluntary statewide bar association. The president is the Association's chief spokesman and presides at all meetings of its members. Every year, a slate of candidates are nominated by the organization's Board of Governors. At the annual full meeting of the Association's members, a president-elect is chosen by direct popular vote from among the nominees. At the adjournment of the succeeding year's annual meeting, the president-elect is then sworn in as president. In the event of an emergency such as the death or resignation of the president elected as above, the president-elect discharges the duties of the president. If the president-elect is not available to succeed the president, a temporary replacement is appointed by the Board of Governors, and, if necessary, both a new president and president-elect are elected at the next annual meeting.^[1]

After the VBA's foundation in July 1888, William J. Robertson of Charlottesville became its first president. The presidency has a term of only one year. From 1888 to 1975, the VBA annual meeting was held during the summer. From 1975 onwards, it has been held in January.

A total of 135 people have served as the president of the Virginia Bar Association since its formation. Benjamin D. Leigh is the current president.^[2]

List of presidents

List of presidents from 1888 to 2022

	Year(s) of Presidency	Name	Portrait	Residence	Reference(s)
1	1888–1889			Charlottesville
2	1889–1890			Lynchburg
3	1890–1891			Bedford
4	1891–1892			Lexington
5	1892–1893			Winchester
6	1893–1894			Christiansburg
7	1894–1895			Lynchburg
8	1895–1896			Norfolk
9	1896–1897			Richmond
10	1897–1898			Palmyra
11	1898–1899			Bedford
12	1899–1900			Richmond
13	1900			Lexington
14	1900–1901			Richmond
15	1901–1902			Staunton
16	1902–1903			Tazewell
17	1903–1904			Petersburg
18	1904–1905			Norfolk
19	1905–1906			Bristol
20	1906–1907			Staunton
21	1907–1908			Richmond
22	1908–1909			Charlottesville
23	1909–1910			Fredericksburg
24	1910–1911			Richmond
25	1911–1912			Big Stone Gap
26	1912–1913			Charlottesville
27	1913–1914			Bedford
28	1914–1915			Portsmouth
29	1915–1916			Richmond
30	1916			Norfolk
31	1916–1918			Roanoke
32	1918–1919			Roanoke
33	1919–1920			Lynchburg
34	1920–1921			Staunton
35	1921–1922			Fredericksburg
36	1922–1923			Lawrenceville
37	1923–1924			Richmond
38	1924–1925			Richmond
39	1925–1926			Richmond
40	1926–1927			Winchester
41	1927–1928			Suffolk
42	1928–1929			Roanoke
43	1929–1930			Petersburg
44	1930–1931			Bristol
45	1931–1932			Orange
46	1932–1933			Richmond
47	1933–1934			Lynchburg
48	1934–1935			Fredericksburg
49	1935–1936			Wytheville
50	1936–1937			Norfolk
51	1937–1938			Roanoke
52	1938–1939			Richmond
53	1939–1940			Lively
54	1940–1941			Martinsville
55	1941–1942			Abingdon
56	1942–1943			Richmond
57	1943–1944			Arlington
58	1944–1946			Pulaski
59	1946–1947			Richmond
60	1947–1948			Roanoke
61	1948–1949			West Point
62	1949–1950			Halifax
63	1950–1951			Martinsville
64	1951–1952			Richmond
65	1952–1953			Norton
66	1953–1954			Richmond
67	1954–1955			Norfolk
68	1955–1956			Charlottesville
69	1956–1957			Danville
70	1957–1958			Winchester
71	1958–1959			Richmond
72	1959–1960			Norfolk
73	1960–1961			Fairfax
74	1961–1962			Richmond
75	1962–1963			Bristol
76	1963–1964			Richmond
77	1964–1965			Orange
78	1965–1966			Staunton
79	1966–1967			Richmond
80	1967–1968			Alexandria
81	1968–1969			Abingdon
82	1969–1970			Norfolk
83	1970–1971			Alexandria
84	1971–1972			Richmond
85	1972–1973			Williamsburg
86	1973–1975			Richmond
87	1975			Winchester
88	1976			Portsmouth
89	1977			Fairfax
90	1978			Charlottesville
91	1979			Fairfax
92	1980			Arlington
93	1981			Norfolk
94	1982			Richmond
95	1983			Roanoke
96	1984			Earlysville
97	1985			Richmond
98	1986			McLean
99	1987			Richmond
100	1988			Norfolk
101	1989			Roanoke
102	1990			Richmond
103	1991			Richmond
104	1992			McLean
105	1993			Danville
106	1994			Fairfax
107	1995			Fairfax
108	1996			Richmond
109	1997			Bridgewater
110	1998			Roanoke
111	1999			Richmond
112	2000			Norfolk
113	2001			Alexandria
114	2002			Richmond
115	2003			Orange
116	2004			Alexandria
117	2005			Richmond
118	2006			Norfolk
119	2007			Washington, D.C.
120	2008			Roanoke
121	2009			Richmond
122	2010			Richmond
123	2011			Alexandria
124	2012				Richmond
125	2013			Roanoke
126	2014			Richmond	^[3]
127	2015			Richmond	^[4]
128	2016			Richmond	^[5]
129	2017			Alexandria	^[6]
130	2018			Staunton	^[7]
131	2019			Virginia Beach	^[8]
132	2020			Virginia Beach	^[9]
133	2021			Norfolk	^[10]
134	2022			Roanoke	^[11]
135	2023			Leesburg	^[12]

External links

• Virginia Bar Association

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bylaws of The Virginia Bar Association . January 21, 2010 . . January 12, 2022.
2. News: History. 2023. Virginia Bar Association. December 14, 2023.
3. Web site: VBA Installs John L. Walker III as President. January 27, 2014. Virginia Bar Association. January 25, 2022.
4. Web site: VBA Installs 'Pete' Johnson as President. January 26, 2015. Virginia Bar Association. January 25, 2022.
5. Web site: VBA Installs 128th VBA President; New Leadership. January 29, 2016. Virginia Bar Association. January 25, 2022.
6. Web site: VBA Installs Officers, Including David S. Mercer as 129th President. January 23, 2017. Virginia Bar Association. January 25, 2022.
7. Web site: Steuart Thomas Becomes 130th VBA President. January 29, 2018. Virginia Bar Association. January 25, 2022.
8. Web site: Richard E. Garriott Jr. Becomes 131st VBA President. January 29, 2019. Virginia Bar Association. January 25, 2022.
9. Web site: VBA Installs Alison M. McKee As 132nd President. January 27, 2020. Virginia Bar Association. January 25, 2022.
10. Web site: VBA Inducts 2021 Officers, Welcomes New Board Members. January 25, 2021. Virginia Bar Association. January 25, 2022.
11. Web site: Victor O. Cardwell Installed as 134th VBA President. January 24, 2022. Virginia Bar Association. January 25, 2022.
12. Web site: VBA Installs Benjamin D. Leigh as 135th President. January 25, 2023. Virginia Bar Association. December 14, 2023.