wfn.org | WCC NEWS: UPDATED - Tveit elected WCC general secretary - PRESS CONFERENCE

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches - News Release

Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 27/08/2009 16:44:52 

OLAV FYKSE TVEIT ELECTED WCC GENERAL SECRETARY

Free high resolution photoavailable, see below

Norwegian theologian and pastor Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, 48,
was elected 7th general secretary of the World Council of
Churches (WCC) Thursday 27 August during its Central Committee
meeting. Tveit will be the youngest general secretary since
Willem A. Visser 't Hooft who had led the WCC while it was in
process of formation and following its founding assembly 61 years
ago.

"This task I really feel is the call of God. I feel that we have
a lot to do together", said Tveit in his acceptance speech before
the central committee. He stressed the spirit of unity that
dominated the whole process and expressed hope that it will
continue to reign in the common journey. Tveit encouraged the
committee members to continue praying for him: "Please do not
stop!"

Since 2002, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has been the general
secretary of the Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and
International Relations. Tveit is a member of the WCC Faith and
Order Plenary Commission and the board of directors and executive
committee of the Christian Council of Norway. 

“He impressed me very much with his speech to us,” said Dean
Anders Gadegaard, a Central Committee member from the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Denmark. “It was both pastoral, personal and
political at the same time, and that gives me much hope for the
future.” Gadegaard said he sees Tveit’s election as part of
an opportunity for the WCC to “have a kind of shift in
generations in leadership”.

Tveit was one of two candidates standing for election to the
WCC's highest administrative post. The other candidate was Rev.
Dr Park Seong-won, 61, a Presbyterian theologian from South
Korea.

“We entered into this process with most of us not knowing Dr.
Park or Dr. Tveit”, said Father Leonid Kishkovsky, ecumenical
officer of the Orthodox Church in America and a Central Committee
member. “In the end, I was impressed with both of their
speeches. I’m happy with the outcome.” Kishkovsky said he
believes Tveit brings a “good balance” of skills in a variety
of areas. “It seems to me the blend is a good one”, he said.

"The atmosphere after this election is one of hope", said Rev.
Dr Emilio Castro, who was WCC general secretary between 1985 and
1992. "I am certain that in this process there were neither
winner nor losers, but the ecumenical movement has been
strengthened. I am convinced that the best years of the WCC are
ahead of us." 

Tveit will replace outgoing general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel
Kobia who in February 2008 informed the Central Committee, the
WCC's highest governing body, that he would not seek a second
term in office. Kobia has served as general secretary since 2004.
It is anticipated that Tveit will take office on 1 Jan., subject
to negotiations with the Central Committee.

>PRESS CONFERENCE:

A press conference with Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit will be held:
Friday, 28 August, 12:40 – 13:20 pm
at the Ecumenical Centre, 
150 route de Ferney, Geneva, Visser 't Hooft Hall

Free high resolution photo of Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit (please
credit Peter Williams/WCC):
http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/images/wcc-main/events/cc_2009/090825/B090826-023.JPG

Text of Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit's presentation before the WCC
central committee on his vision for the Council: 
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=7150

Biographical information on Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit:
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=6908

Information on previous WCC general secretaries:
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=4110

More information on the 26 August - 2 September 2009 Central
Committee meeting:
http://www.oikoumene.org/cc2009

Additional information: Juan Michel +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
6363  media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith,
witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical
fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings
together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches
representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110
countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic
Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from
the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.