The Lutheran World Federation has elected its first female general secretary, who will also become the first person from Central Eastern Europe to lead the global communion body.
The Rev. Anne Burghardt of Estonia, a theologian who presently heads the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church’s Institute of Theology, was elected Saturday.
According to an announcement, the LWF Council elected Burghardt with 28 votes, or 58% support, while the Rev. Kenneth Mtata of Zimbabwe received 20 votes, or 42% support.
Founded in 1947 and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the LWF comprises 148 member churches representing nearly 100 countries and approximately 77 million people.
Burghardt will take office in November, replacing current General Secretary Rev. Martin Junge, who has led the international church body for 11 years.
In a statement, Burghardt said she is “humbled by this great honor and deeply grateful for the confidence that the Council members have shown in me.”
“In accepting this very special responsibility in the communion, I pray for the guidance of God’s Spirit,” she continued. “I rejoice in having the possibility to work with the Council, with member churches, and with different partners, as the LWF continues to participate in God’s holistic mission.”
Born in 1975, when Estonia was part of the Soviet Union, Burghardt studied theology at the University of Tartu and Humboldt University, both in Germany.
The Lutheran denomination she serves, the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, comprises a little over 10% of Estonia’s 1.3 million population.
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