September 1, 2004

GENEVA - The Council of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) today re-elected Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko as LWF General Secretary for another seven-year term.

The 49-member Council elected the 60-year-old Zimbabwean theologian in a closed session at Chavannes-de-Bogis near Geneva, where the LWF governing body is meeting, September 1-7.

Noko expressed deep appreciation to the Council on his re-election. With regard to his term, he expressed the hope that he would attend the next LWF Assembly scheduled between 2009 and 2010 as a guest.

Noko was first appointed as general secretary in June 1994 and assumed office on November 1 the same year, becoming the first African to hold this position in the LWF. Prior to that he served as director of the then Department of Church Cooperation, later named Department for Mission and Development.

Born on 29 October 1943 in then Rhodesia, Noko received his primary and high school education locally. He pursued his theological studies at the University of South Africa in Pretoria, and at the University of Zululand. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971, majoring in systematic theology, church history and biblical studies.

After his ordination in 1972, he studied for a Master's degree at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and completed in 1974 with a thesis on "Communion of Saints from the African Perspective."

From 1974 until 1977, Noko studied at McGill University in Quebec and earned his Ph.D. with a doctoral thesis on "The Concept of God >in Black Theology: An Appreciation of God as Liberator and Reconciler."

During his studies in Canada, Noko worked as a parish pastor and university lecturer. In late 1977, he accepted a lectureship at the University of Botswana where, two years later, he was appointed head of the Department of Theology/Religious Studies. He also served for three years as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities.

In May 1982, Noko was called from the University of Botswana to join the LWF Department for World Service (DWS) where he worked for refugee services related to the churches, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Organization of African Unity and other organizations.

As General Secretary, Noko is the Chief Executive Officer of the entire organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with a staff of 70 persons from 20 different nations. There are also over 60 expatriate staff persons from 24 nations working alongside some 5,800 national staff in the LWF/DWS field programs.

In addition to administrative responsibilities, he is the LWF's chief ecumenical officer, relating to Christian world communions and communities of other religious traditions. He led the process that resulted in the October 1999 signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification between the LWF and the Roman Catholic Church.

Noko is also responsible for international affairs in contact with governments and political leaders. In recent years, he has had audiences with numerous heads of state and government. He is a recipient of the 1994 Luther Award, of three honorary doctorates from the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Saskatoon, Canada; the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, USA; and Concordia College, North Dakota, USA. On 7 October 2000 he was made honorary citizen of Slavkov (Austerlitz) in the Czech Republic.

Noko and his wife Gladys have one daughter and two sons.

Lutheran World Information