Court of Appeal Judge Zaila McCalla has created history in being the first woman to be appointed Chief Justice of Jamaica.

The appointment takes effect on June 27, as Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe is retiring on June 26.

A press release which was issued yesterday from King's House stated that Governor-General Professor Kenneth Hall had appointed her to the helm of the judiciary.

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The Governor-General said the appointment was made acting on the recommendation of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition Bruce Golding.

The Gleaner had first reported last week that Mrs. Justice McCalla was the Prime Minister's choice for Chief Justice after Solicitor General Michael Hylton indicated he was no longer interested in the position. President of the Court of Appeal, Paul Harrison, described Justice McCalla as being very capable for the job.

"She has a very balanced approach to her work, she has shown in the Court of Appeal since she has been there that she is prepared to work hard and long hours, and I know she will do well," he emphasised.

A graduate of the University of the West Indies and the Norman Manley Law School, Justice McCalla has had a long and distinguished career in law since her admission to the Bar in 1976.

She served as a Clerk of Courts and then as a Crown Counsel and an Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the office of the DPP until 1985 when she was appointed a Resident Magistrate.

In 1993 Justice McCalla was appointed to act as Master in Cambers of the Supreme Court and was subsequently appointed to the position on August 1, 1996. On July 7, 1997, she was appointed a Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court. She was appointed to act in the Court of Appeal in April 2004 and was appointed to the post in April 2006.

A past student of Montego Bay High School, Mrs. Justice McCalla once served as president of the Resident Magistrates Association, and has attended and participated in various legal seminars and conferences, both local and international, including an intensive study programme for judicial educators at the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute, Dalhouse University Law School in Halifax, Canada.

She is married to William McCalla, an attorney-at-law, and has three children - Mark, Leslie-Ann and Martin.