Pat McCrory becomes governor Saturday, the first Republican chief executive in North Carolina in 20 years.

N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarah Parker will administer the oath of office in a mostly private ceremony at noon in the old House chambers in the Capitol. The traditional inauguration events, including the parade, will take place Jan. 12.

The invitation-only affair is a first. In previous years, the governor took the oath at an outdoor public ceremony, as Gov. Bev Perdue did in 2009 before a downtown crowd of 3,000 outside the State Archives building. McCrory’s ceremony will be broadcast live on the air and online.

McCrory moved his swearing-in forward from the traditional inauguration – planned for Jan. 12 to coincide with the Junior League of Raleigh’s Inaugural Ball the previous night – because lawmakers will take their oaths Wednesday.

“We felt it would be proper that the governor be sworn in at the same time or prior to the legislature,” McCrory said this week.

The newly minted governor will still attend the ceremonial public inauguration, where he will give his address on the south lawn of the Capitol, facing down Fayetteville Street through the center of Raleigh, a new location from past years.

“We are opening up to the city of Raleigh, which is my new home,” McCrory said. “And it’s not just a government inauguration; it’s a people’s inauguration on Main Street.”

Republican Lt. Gov.-elect Dan Forest will be sworn in Monday in a private ceremony at the Capitol. Other statewide elected leaders will take the oath in public Jan. 12.

McCrory will swear in his Cabinet in the old Senate chambers at the Capitol after he takes the oath “so they can get to work immediately,” he said.

As part of his schedule Saturday, McCrory will attend a private prayer service at 11 a.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, and host a brunch for his Cabinet at the governor’s mansion.

Later that evening, in his first speech as governor, he will address a fundraiser for the Veteran’s Leadership Council of North Carolina-Cares to benefit homeless veterans.

Perdue plans to attend McCrory’s ceremony and move her final items from the mansion Saturday morning to allow McCrory to move in the same day.

Frank: 919-829-4698