LWF Re-elect Zimbabwean Theologian as General Secretary

As the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) started the General Council 2004 on the last day of August, it has immediately moved to the highlight of the gathering - the election of the LWF General Secretary on 1st September.

The 49-member Council of the LWF have re-elected Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko as th LWF General Secretary for another seven-year term.

Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, 60, is a Zimbabwean theologian. Noko was first appointed as the General Secretary in 1994, becoming the first African to hold this position in the LWF.

Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko is known as a scholar and has spent most of his life in researching different aspects in theology. He pursued theological studies at the University of South Africa in Pretoria, and at the University of Zululand, majoring in systematic theology, church history and biblical studies. Rev. Noko earned his Ph.D at McGill University in Quebec with a doctoral thesis on “The Concept of God in Black Theology: An Appreciation of God as Liberator and Reconciler.”

Rev Noko has greatly contributed to the LWF. In the very beginning, he joined the LWF Department for World Service (DWS) where he worked for refugee services related to the churches, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Organisation of African Unity and other organisations. Later, he took up the post as a Director of the Department of Mission and Development.

Given his prior experiences, Rev Noko is very active in presenting the voice of world Lutherans in the area of international affairs and human rights, drafting a selection of reports, policy documents, discussion papers and statements. He is responsible for international affairs in contact with governments and political leaders. In recent years, he has had audiences with numerous heads of state and governments.

Rev Noko is also the LWF’s chief ecumenical officer, relating to Christian world communions and communities of other religious traditions; one of the important achievements is the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification between the LWF and the Roman Catholic Church in October 1999.

Rev Noko expressed his deep appreciation to the Council on his re-election. He hoped that he would attend the next LWF Assembly scheduled between 2009 and 2010.