Former Greenville prosecutor and S.C. federal judge William "Billy" Wilkins has become the top federal judge in a five-state area.

Wilkins on Saturday became chief judge of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. The term is seven years.

It is the second time in the 55 years since chief federal judges were established that a South Carolina judge has held the post, Wilkins said Tuesday.

Clement Haynsworth, a federal judge from 1957 to 1989, was chief judge in Richmond from 1964 to 1981, court records show.

Wilkins was Haynsworth's law clerk during the 1969 fight that blocked Haynsworth's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"I've come full circle," Wilkins said.

As chief judge, Wilkins will oversee administration of the appeals court, handle grievances against judges and decide which judges write legal opinions.

Chief judges also sit on the rule-making body for all federal courts, the Judicial Conference of the United States.

After working for Haynsworth, Wilkins spent a year on Sen. Strom Thurmond's Washington staff. Wilkins said the former senator sparked his interest in politics.

In 1974, Wilkins was elected to consecutive terms as 13th Circuit solicitor for Greenville and Pickens counties. He said he was the first Republican elected prosecutor in South Carolina since Reconstruction.

Wilkins' brother is S.C. Speaker of the House David Wilkins.

In July 1981, Billy Wilkins was President Ronald Reagan's first appointment to a federal judgeship. Wilkins served five years and was based largely in Greenville.

Reagan named Wilkins chairman of a national sentencing commission in October 1985.

The following summer, Reagan appointed Wilkins to the appeals court in Richmond.