wfn.org | Finnish Pauli Rantanen, New LWF Finance Director

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

06 - LWF COUNCIL MEETING, 12-19 JUNE 2001

GENEVA, 13 June 2001 (LWI) - Mr. Pauli Rantanen from Finland becomes
Director for Finance and Administration at the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) beginning July 2001. The Executive Committee of the LWF took this
decision by mail vote.

Rantanen, 46, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, succeeds Mr. Friedrich
Manske who last February left the LWF after heading the finance and
administration office for nearly nine years. Manske moved to the United
Evangelical Mission (UEM) in Wuppertal, Germany as Executive Secretary for
Finance, Administration and Resource Development.

Rantanen earned his bachelor's degree in economics from the Helsinki School
of Economics and Business Administration in 1977. Since the early eighties
he has worked in various finance and administration positions both in
Finland and abroad. From 1981 to 1985 and between 1990 and 1993, Rantanen
worked as treasurer for the Lutheran Mission in Thailand (FELM), Bangkok,
becoming FELM's marketing manager in Helsinki.

 From 1997 he served as head of finance and administration at Finnchurchaid,
beginning of 2001.
headed promotion and fundraising respectively, returning to finance at the

FCA carries out development, relief and interchurch aid in around 60
countries. As a part of the global network of churches and church-related
agencies, it participates in programs that are implemented by the LWF, local
churches and communities.

Rantanen is married and has one son and a daughter.

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(The LWF s a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 131 member
churches in 72 countries representing over 60.2 million of the nearly 64
million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches
in areas of common interest such as ecumenical relations, theology,
humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various
aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in
Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted, material presented does
not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units.
Where the dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the material
may be freely reproduced with acknowledgement.]

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