General of The Salvation Army

General of The Salvation Army
Incumbent Brian Peddle since 3 August 2018
Style	General
Residence	London, United Kingdom
Appointer	High Council Elected by the High Council of The Salvation Army by secret ballot
Term length	Five years, which may be extended up to a maximum of seven years But must be under 68 years old
Inaugural holder	William Booth 1878

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General is the title of the international leader and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Salvation Army, a Christian denomination with extensive charitable social services that gives quasi-military rank to its ministers (who are therefore known as officers). The General is elected by the High Council of The Salvation Army and serves a term of five years, which may be extended to seven years. Brian Peddle, the current General, assumed the position in August 2018 upon the retirement of Andre Cox. The organisation's founder, William Booth, was the first and longest serving general. There have been 21 generals as of 2018.

History and procedures for election

Usage of the term General began with the Founder of The Salvation Army, William Booth. His wife, Catherine Booth, became known as the "Mother" of The Salvation Army. General Booth passed on the command to his eldest son, Bramwell Booth, but all Generals after Bramwell Booth have been elected.

The office of General is not restricted by gender. Evangeline Booth, Booths's daughter, was elected the fourth General of the Army, and Australian Eva Burrows was elected the thirteenth General. On January 31, 2011 Commissioner Linda Bond, a Canadian national, was named General-Elect of The Salvation Army and assumed office on April 2, 2011 following the retirement of General Shaw Clifton.

The Officer of The Salvation Army who is elected General is the worldwide spiritual leader of The Salvation Army and the chief executive officer of the organization. Since The Salvation Army maintains a heriarchical, quasi-military structure, all appointments and regulations are issued under the General's authority. Since the results of the 1929 High Council, and with the passage of The Salvation Army Act in the British Parliament in 1931, a General must "retire" at age 68^[1]. As of April 2018 there are 5 retired Generals still living.

The General is elected by the High Council when his predecessor is removed by the High Council, retires, or dies (known within the Salvation Army as being promoted to Glory). The High Council is composed of the Chief of the Staff, all active commissioners, except the spouse of the incumbent General, and all territorial commanders.

On January 31, 2011, after 10 days of meetings which began on January 21, 2011, the 17th High Council elected Linda Bond as the 19th General of The Salvation Army. Bond was the third woman to hold the post and the fourth Canadian. This election was handled by the largest High Council in history and was especially significant due to the number of women delegates (57) outnumbering the number of men delegates (52).^[2]

On 3 August 2013 the then-Commissioner Andre Cox was elected by the High Council of 2013 as the 20th General of The Salvation Army.^[3] The High Council of 2018 selected Brian Peddle as Cox's successor in May 2018; he took office in August 2018. ^[4]

Leadership

The General serves as the Chief executive officer (CEO) of The Salvation Army at the international level, but the organization is divided into many subunits controlled by other individuals. For instance, Commissioner David Hudson, appointed by Cox, serves as the CEO of The Salvation Army of the United States. ^[5]

Generals of The Salvation Army

No.	General	Took office	Left office	Nationality	Born	Died
1st	William Booth	1865	1912		10 April 1829	20 August 1912
2nd	Bramwell Booth, CH	1912	1929		8 March 1856	16 June 1929
3rd	Edward Higgins	1929	1934		26 November 1864	14 December 1947
4th	Evangeline Booth, OF	1934	1939		25 December 1865	17 July 1950
5th	George Carpenter	1939	1946		20 June 1872	9 April 1948
6th	Albert Orsborn	1946	1954		4 September 1886	4 February 1967
7th	Wilfred Kitching, CBE	1954	1963		22 August 1893	15 December 1977
8th	Frederick Coutts, CBE	1963	1969		21 September 1899	6 February 1986
9th	Erik Wickberg	1969	1974		6 July 1904	26 April 1996
10th	Clarence Wiseman, OC	1974	1977		19 June 1907	4 May 1985
11th	Arnold Brown, OC	1977	1981		13 December 1913	26 June 2002
12th	Jarl Wahlström	1981	1986		9 July 1918	3 December 1999
13th	Eva Burrows, AC	1986	1993		15 September 1929	20 March 2015
14th	Bramwell Tillsley	July 1993	May 1994		18 August 1931
15th	Paul Rader	August 1994	July 1999		14 March 1934
16th	John Gowans	July 1999	September 2002		13 November 1934	8 December 2012
17th	John Larsson	September 2002	April 2006		2 April 1938
18th	Shaw Clifton	April 2006	April 2011		21 September 1945
19th	Linda Bond	2 April 2011	13 June 2013		22 June 1946
20th	Andre Cox	3 August 2013	3 August 2018		12 July 1954
21st	Brian Peddle	3 August 2018	Incumbent		9 August 1957

References

External links

• Official website