Roberts, John Glover, Jr. (1955-…), became chief justice of the United States in 2005. The position is the highest on the Supreme Court of the United States. President George W. Bush named him to fill the vacancy created by the death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.
Prior to his appointment to the court, Roberts served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He had previously held posts in two Republican administrations. He was known as a conservative.
Roberts was born on Jan. 27, 1955, in Buffalo, New York. He grew up in Indiana, where his family moved when he was a boy. Roberts graduated from Harvard College in 1976 and from Harvard Law School in 1979. In 1980, he became a law clerk for Rehnquist, who was then a Supreme Court associate justice. Roberts served as associate counsel on President Ronald Reagan’s staff from 1982 to 1986. Roberts later served under President George H. W. Bush as principal deputy solicitor general from 1989 to 1993. Roberts practiced law for a private firm from 1986 to 1989 and from 1993 to 2003. As deputy solicitor general and as a lawyer in private practice, he argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court. He was appointed a federal appeals court judge in 2003.
