The Jefferson Lab program: From 6 GeV operations to the 12 GeV upgrade

The Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory and the CEBAF accelerator operated for more than a decade, running a comprehensive scientific program that improved our understanding of the strong interaction. The facility is now moving toward an upgrade of the machine, from 6 to 12 GeV; a new experimental hall will be added and the equipment of the three existing halls will be enhanced. In this contribution some selected results from the rich physics program run at JLab, as well as the prospects for the near future, will be presented.