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Chief Justice Cory Swanson is married to Julie Swanson, and they live in Townsend with their two children, Caleb and Claire. Julie is a pediatric speech therapist. The family is active in youth sports, 4-H, community events, and their local church.
Cory grew up on the Hi-Line before his family relocated to the Gallatin Valley, and he attended high school in Manhattan, Montana. Cory attended Montana State University studying Animal Science before transferring to Carroll College and graduating in 2000 with a BA in Political Science. After taking off a year for military education, Cory attended the University of Montana School of Law and received his JD with Honors in 2004. He was a member of Carroll College’s national championship Parliamentary Debate team, and UM Law School’s Jessup International Moot Court team that qualified for the World competition in Washington, D.C.
Cory has worked extensively in Montana politics, including working for Speaker of the House Dan McGee, Senate President Tom Beck, Congressman Rick Hill, Attorney General Tim Fox, Senator Conrad Burns, and Governor Judy Martz. He worked in a private civil practice in Helena from 2006-2012, then served as Deputy Attorney General at the Montana Department of Justice in 2013-2014. In that role, he was lead in-state counsel for the Montana v. Wyoming water trial before a Special Master of the US Supreme Court.
Cory was elected Broadwater County Attorney in 2014, then was re-elected without opposition in 2018 and 2022 (the final campaign while he was deployed in the Middle East). It was his humble duty and honor to serve the people of Broadwater County for a decade. He served on the board of the Montana County Attorneys Association, including as Secretary / Treasurer and Vice President before leaving MCAA due to his election to the Supreme Court. Cory ran for and was elected Chief Justice of the Montana Supreme Court in November 2024.
Cory enlisted as an Infantryman in the Montana Army National Guard in June 1997, and deployed three time to the Middle East with the 1-163rd Combined Arms Battalion. In 2016-2017, he led the 1-163rd Battalion on overseas NATO training exercises in Romania and fighting Montana wildfires in 2017. In 2022, he was recalled to command the 1-163rd for a second time, leading an Armored Task Force of over 1,100 personnel conducting operations in 6 countries in the Middle East. He attended the US Army War College via distance education and graduated in 2021 with a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies. He is a qualified Armor Officer (tanks) at the rank of Colonel, and is nearing retirement after 28 years of service.