Governor Kim Reynolds has appointed a 44-year-old who was born in Thailand as the next justice of the Iowa Supreme Court. Christopher McDonald has been serving on the Iowa Court of Appeals since September of 2013.

McDonald thanked his family as well as legal colleagues and clients.

McDonald called his five-and-a-half years on the Iowa Court of Appeals as “the most rewarding professional service of his life.”

McDonald is filling the vacancy created when Justice Daryl Hecht resigned for health reasons.