ELCA NEWS SERVICE October 26, 2009 Martin Junge Named General Secretary of Lutheran World Federation 09-234-FI/LWI* CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Council elected the Rev. Martin Junge on Oct. 26 to a seven-year term as the eighth LWF General Secretary. The former president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile (Iglesia Evangelica Luterana en Chile - IELC) becomes the first general secretary from the Latin America and Caribbean region. At the end of October 2010, Junge, 48, will succeed the Rev. Ishmael Noko, who became the first African to serve as LWF General Secretary in June 1994. Noko, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe, was affirmed as general secretary in 1997 and re-elected in 2004. Junge studied Protestant theology between 1980 and 1986 at the Georg August University in Goettingen, Germany. Following his ordination in 1989, Junge served as pastor of two IELC congregations in Santiago, Chile. In 2000 he became area secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean in the LWF Department for Mission and Development (DMD). Since 2008 Junge has been pursuing a diploma in the management of not-for- profit organizations at the University of Freiburg in Switzerland. Junge is married with two children. The 49-member council is meeting Oct. 22-27 in Chavannes de Bogis, Switzerland, near Geneva. The 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 LWF's Tenth Assembly in 2003. LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition, representing 68.5 million members in 79 countries. Its secretariat is located in Geneva. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is one of the LWF's 140 member churches. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson serves as both ELCA presiding bishop and LWF president. As president, Hanson chairs the LWF council. According to Lutheran World Information, the LWF's information service, the council intended to vote Oct. 22 on the election of a new general secretary. Hanson reported Oct. 23 that the governing body asked its 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," he said. About 75 representatives from LWF member churches and partner organizations are attending the meeting. Another 90 participants include invited guests, stewards, interpreters and translators, media and LWF staff. The LWF general secretary conducts the day-to-day business of the federation in collaboration with the cabinet, which is made up of the directors of departments and units appointed by the council. She or he is responsible for the implementation of LWF assembly and council decisions. --- Information about the Lutheran World Federation is at http://www.lutheranworld.org/ on the Web. * Lutheran World Information provided information for this report. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog