DALTON, Ga. — Judge Charlie Bethel will soon become Justice Charlie Bethel.

On Friday, Gov. Nathan Deal named Bethel, a Dalton native, to the Supreme Court of Georgia. Bethel has served since January 2017 on the state Court of Appeals.

“I’m honored and humbled by the governor’s confidence in my ability to do the job,” said Bethel. “It’s a wonderful opportunity, and I’m feeling excitement and trepidation and all of the above. But I think that’s true of any new job. You are motivated to do your best.”

The Supreme Court of Georgia is the highest judicial authority in the state. The Georgia Constitution of 1983 provides that the Supreme Court “shall be a court of review and shall exercise exclusive appellate jurisdiction in certain cases.”

Bethel will fill the seat left vacant by the recent retirement of Justice P. Harris Hines.

Chief Justice Harold D. Melton welcomed Bethel to the court.

“On behalf of the Supreme Court of Georgia, I congratulate Judge Bethel on his appointment to our court,” Melton said in a statement. “Charlie is a dedicated public servant and an exceptional jurist. He will make a wonderful addition to this court.”

Bethel said he will take his seat on the court as soon as he is sworn in by Deal, which he expects will be in two to three weeks.

“No date has been set yet,” he said. “I expect the governor will set a date early next week.”

At the same time that Deal named Bethel to the Supreme Court, he named Chris Coomer, of Cartersville, to fill Bethel’s seat on the Court of Appeals.

Coomer currently represents the 14th District in the state House of Representatives.

Both the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court meet in Atlanta. Bethel has maintained an office in the Whitfield County courthouse and worked part-time in Dalton.

“I expect that I will still be able to do some work (in Dalton),” he said. “But it will require more of my physical presence in Atlanta because there are more face-to-face meetings among the justices.”

Deal appointed Bethel to the Court of Appeals in November 2016, just a day after Bethel, a Republican, was elected to a fourth term in the state Senate.

Bethel, who is also a former member of the Dalton City Council, is a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law. He and his wife Lynsey have three children — Henry, Jeb and Joanna.

In the state Senate, Bethel was one of Deal’s floor leaders and was the chair of the Insurance and Labor Committee and vice chair of the Reapportionment and Redistricting Committee. He also held seats on the Appropriations and both Judiciary committees.