Lieutenant Governor Joe Kelly was sworn in as Nebraska’s 42nd Lieutenant Governor on January 5, 2023.
Born and raised in Lexington, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Nebraska in 1978 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 1981. Lieutenant Governor Kelly served as a criminal prosecutor in the Lancaster County Attorney's Office from 1981 to 1985.
From 1986 through 1990 he was an associate with Berniger, Berg, and Diver in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He returned to his career as a prosecutor with the Lancaster County Attorney's Office in 1990 and was subsequently elected County Attorney in 2010 and again in 2014.
In 2018, President Trump appointed him as the United States Attorney for Nebraska where he served until February 2021. Lieutenant Governor Kelly most recently served as the Criminal Bureau Chief for the Nebraska Attorney General. He and his wife of more than 30 years, Susan, have two children, Shannon and Tom. The Kellys live in Lincoln, where they attend St. Peter Catholic Church.