LWF President
LWF President, Bishop Mark S. Hanson |
The President is the Federation's chief official representative and spokesperson. He/she presides at meetings of the Assembly, Council and Executive Committee, and oversees the life and work of the Federation in consultation with the Treasurer and General Secretary.
The current President is the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He was elected in July 2003 by the LWF Tenth Assembly, which took place in Winnipeg, Canada. Hanson is the eleventh person to hold the position of LWF President since the Federation was founded in 1947.
Born in Minneapolis in 1946, Hanson graduated from Augsburg College with a B.A. in sociology. He received a Master of Divinity degree in 1972 at Union Theological Seminary, New York City.
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From left: The newly elected President, Bishop Mark S. Hanson, and Bishop em. Dr Christian Krause, LWF President from 1997-2003, at the LWF Tenth Assembly in Winnipeg, Canada |
Following his ordination in 1974, Hanson served as pastor of Prince of Glory Lutheran Church, Minneapolis; Edina (Minnesota) Community Lutheran Church; and University Lutheran Church of Hope at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He was elected bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod in 1995 and had been elected to a second term upon his election as ELCA presiding bishop in August 2001.
Hanson is a member of the executive board of the National Council of Churches in the USA. He was president of the Minnesota Council of Churches 1998-2000. At the time of his election as presiding bishop, he was serving as vice chair of the ELCA Conference of Bishops.
Further biographical data on President
Hanson are available. (Requires Adobe
Acrobat Reader)
More photos are available on the LWF Assembly Web site.
Christmas Message from LWF President Mark S. Hanson
Please click here for the full text of LWF President Mark S. Hanson's Christmas message 2006. The 2006 LWF Christmas Message is also online as pdf version.
Listen to the LWF Christmas Message
You can also listen to Bishop Hanson's Christmas message as a MP3 download (2.22 MB).
Click here for information on the LWF President from 1997-2003, Bishop em. Dr Christian Krause.
