News Brief

The governing body of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has decided to delay voting on the election of a new General Secretary, which was scheduled for 22 October 2009. The LWF Council meeting is taking place at Chavannes-de-Bogis near Geneva, Switzerland.

LWF representatives say the vote on the next General Secretary will still take place during this Council meeting, which continues until 27 October.

Reporting yesterday on the outcome of a closed executive session of the Council, the LWF President, Bishop Mark S. Hanson said the LWF governing body had also requested the Search Committee “to make every effort to bring an additional name of a candidate” for consideration. “This in no way reflects on the quality of the search committee’s report,” said Hanson.

Discussion on the General Secretary’s election and the report by the search committee, headed by the former president of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church, Mekane Yesus Rev. Iteffa Gobena, took place in a closed session of the Council. The seven-member search committee comprises representatives from all the LWF’s regions.

The current General Secretary, Zimbabwean pastor the Rev Dr Ishmael Noko, was elected in June 1994, becoming the first African to hold the LWF’s chief executive position. The Council re-affirmed his election in 1997 and he was re-elected for a second seven-year term in 2004. At the June 2008 Council meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, Noko announced that he would be leaving office on 31 October 2010.

The LWF General Secretary conducts the business of the Federation in collaboration with the Cabinet, which is made up of the directors of departments and units appointed by the Council. The position holder is responsible for the implementation of the Council and Assembly decisions.

Around 75 representatives from LWF member churches and partner organizations are attending this year’s Council meeting at Chavannes de Bogis near Geneva, Switzerland. An additional 90 registered participants include invited guests, stewards, interpreters, translators, media persons and LWF staff.

The 49-member Council is the LWF’s governing body, meeting every 12-18 months between Assemblies which are held every six years. The current Council was appointed at the July 2003 Tenth Assembly in Winnipeg, Canada.