wfn.org | Paulsen Elected President of Adventist World Church

["Christian B. Schäffler" <APD_Info_Schweiz@compuserve.com>]

March, 5, 1999
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland

Jan Paulsen Elected President of the Seventh-day 
Adventist World Church

Silver Spring, Maryland, USA (APD/ANN)  Jan Paulsen was 
elected president of the General Conference of Seventh-
day Adventists on March 1. The election occurred as part 
of a special meeting of the General Conference Executive 
Committee.

Pastor Paulsen has been vice-president of the General 
Conference since 1995. Prior to that he was president of 
the Trans-European Division from 1983 to 1995. Pastor 
Paulsen has been a pastor, a departmental leader, a 
teacher, and a college president.

A native of Norway, Paulsen is the third non-American 
president of the world Church. He has academic degrees 
from Andrews University in Michigan and the Evangelical 
Faculty of the University of Tuebingen in Germany. 

The committee of 244 registered members from more than 
90 countries met for the full day, with the entire 
committee serving as the nominating committee. They 
spent almost two hours discussing the qualifications 
they expected in a president, and turned to prayer on 
four occasions.  In the process of selecting a president, 
the committee considered more than 10 names and spent 
almost four hours in discussion.

Speaking at the World Church Headquarters today, March 
2, Paulsen expressed his appreciation for the work of his 
colleagues.

"We are a very diverse family in this House.  Our talents 
differ, we think differently, we have different 
temperaments, and we don't always agree, we don't 
always see eye to eye.  I want you to know, I think
that's just fine.  We don't have to agree on everything.
But, we are going to work our way around whatever 
differences that may be, because it's important that at 
the end of the day, we pull together and that what the 
Lord has in mind, what the Lord wants to accomplish, that 
we can set about doing it."