wfn.org | Ishmael Noko re-elected general secreatary of Lutheran World Federation

[David Pomeroy <wfn@igc.apc.org>]

LWF

Council re-elects Noko general secretary

HONG KONG, July 25, 1997 (lwi) - The Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko, 53, was
re-elected general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) at the
first meeting of the newly elected LWF Council following the LWF's Ninth
Assembly. The new LWF president, Bishop Christian Krause of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church of Brunswick, Germany, announced that the vote for Noko was
unanimous.

As general secretary, Noko heads a staff of about 94 people in Geneva,
Switzerland, headquarters of the LWF. He has been on the staff of the LWF
since 1982 and has served as general secretary since 1994.

Born in Zimbabwe, Noko is an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of Zimbabwe. He studied theology at the University of South Africa
and the University of Zululand. He received his master's degree from the
Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and his
Ph.D. from McGill University in Quebec. During his studies he worked as a
parish pastor and university lecture.

He accepted a lectureship at the University of Botswana in 1977 and became
head of the Department of Theology/Religious Studies two years later. He
also served for three years as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities.

He joined the LWF Department of World Service in 1982, working in refugee
services. In 1987 he became director of the Department of Church
Cooperation where he was responsible for programs in the areas of
theological education, mission, youth, and various regional desks.
Following restructuring in 1990, he became director of the new Department
for Mission and Development.

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