RICHMOND -- Justice Cynthia Kinser was elected by her peers Tuesday to become the next chief justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia, making her the first woman to hold the top post on the state's highest court.

Kinser, a native and resident of Lee County, will take over as chief justice on Feb. 1. She will succeed Chief Justice Leroy Hassell, who has served two four-year terms as the chief and was not eligible for re-election under the court's term limits policy.

The chief justice presides over the Supreme Court and also supervises the administration of the entire state court system. The position had been based solely on seniority until 2002, when the General Assembly gave the court's seven members the authority to elect the chief.

Kinser, a former commonwealth's attorney in Lee County and former federal magistrate judge, was appointed to the court in 1997 by then-Gov. George Allen. The General Assembly confirmed her for a full 12-year term in 1998 and re-elected her to another term earlier this year.

Kinser ranks third in seniority on the court behind Hassell and Justice Lawrence Koontz of Salem.

Kinser has an undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee and a law degree from the University of Virginia.

In a statement Tuesday, Allen recalled accompanying then-Chief Justice Harry Carrico to Lee County High School for Kinser's swearing-in ceremony 13 years ago.

"Little did we know then that the newest justice in 1997 would someday ascend to become chief justice," Allen said.

"All the hundreds of people in the Lee High School gym that day and now all Virginians can be rightfully proud of Justice Kinser's continued vitally important leadership for Virginia," the statement said. "Her respectful decisions help Virginia attract investment and jobs as well as keep our communities safe."