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General of The Salvation Army
Title of the international leader of The Salvation Army
Title of the international leader of The Salvation Army
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| post | General |
| body | The Salvation Army |
| insignia | The Salvation Army - General.svg |
| insigniasize | 50 |
| insigniacaption | Rank insignia of General |
| flag | Standard of the Salvation Army.svg |
| flagcaption | Standard of the Salvation Army |
| image | Lyndon Buckingham at Sunbury Court.png |
| imagesize | 200px |
| incumbent | Lyndon Buckingham |
| incumbentsince | 3 August 2023 |
| department | Standard of the Salvation Army.svg The Salvation Army |
| style | General |
| type | Chief executive officer |
| residence | London, United Kingdom |
| appointer | High Council, |
| appointer_qualified | but must be under 68 years old |
| termlength | Five years, |
| termlength_qualified | extendable up to a maximum of seven years |
| constituting_instrument | The Salvation Army Act 1931 and Salvation Army Act 1980 via the Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| formation | 2 July 1865 |
| first | William Booth |
| deputy | Chief of the Staff |
General is the title of the international leader and chief executive officer 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. According to the organization, the General is purported to be chosen by God, and the council identifies that person. The position is roughly equivalent to the position of Archbishop in many other Christian denominations. Lyndon Buckingham is the current General, who assumed office on 3 August 2023 upon the retirement of Brian Peddle. The organization's founder, William Booth, was the first and longest-serving General. There have been 22 Generals as of 2023.
History and procedures for election
Usage of the title "General" within the context of The Salvation Army, began with the founder of The Salvation Army, William Booth. His wife, Catherine Booth, the organisation's co-founder, became known as the "Mother" of The Salvation Army. General Booth served as General until his death in 1912; Booth selected his son, Bramwell Booth as his successor. It was William Booth's intention to have each General dictate their successor, but the Salvation Army Act 1931 passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom requires that each General is selected by the High Council of The Salvation Army. Every General after Bramwell Booth has been selected by the High Council. In accordance with the Salvation Army Act 1931, a General must retire at age 68 and may serve as long as seven years. The General is elected by the High Council when their predecessor retires or dies (known within the Salvation Army as being promoted to Glory). William Booth was the only General to die in office. 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. The High Council may also remove a General from office for violations of their "covenant to God", disability, or the inability to fulfill their duties, though this has never happened.
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. The General has a role that is similar to the Pope's role within the Catholic Church. Since The Salvation Army maintains a hierarchical, quasi-military structure, all appointments and regulations are issued under the General's authority.
Three women have been elected General of the Salvation Army: Evangeline Booth, William Booths's daughter, in 1934, Eva Burrows in 1986, and Linda Bond in 2011.
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).
On 3 August 2013 the then-Commissioner André Cox was elected by the High Council of 2013 as the 20th General of The Salvation Army. The High Council of 2018 selected Brian Peddle as Cox's successor in May 2018; he took office in August 2018.
On 26 May 2023 the High Council of 2023 elected Lyndon Buckingham as Peddle's successor.
Vacancy
In the event of vacancy, either by death or resignation, the Salvation Army Act 1980 requires that the Chief of the Staff of The Salvation Army serve as acting General if a successor had not already been elected. The most recent instance of vacancy was in 2013 when Linda Bond retired unexpectedly; Andre Cox served as acting General.
List of living retired Generals
There are three retired Generals living. The most recent General to die was Paul Rader on 18 January 2025.
- Linda Bond
- André Cox
- Brian Peddle
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 Merle Heatwole, appointed by Buckingham, serves as the National Commander of The Salvation Army of the United States.
Generals of The Salvation Army
| No. | Portrait | Name | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (birth–death) | Term of office | Nationality | Chief of the Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||
| 1 | [[File:William Booth.jpg | 60px]] | William Booth | |||||
| (1829–1912) | 2 July 1865 | 20 August 1912 † | UK | Bramwell Booth | ||||
| 2 | [[File:Bramwell Booth 1910-1915.jpg | 60px]] | Bramwell Booth | |||||
| (1856–1929) | 21 August 1912 | 13 February 1929 | UK | T. Henry Howard | ||||
| Edward Higgins | ||||||||
| 3 | [[File:General Edward Higgins.jpg | 60px]] | Edward Higgins | |||||
| (1864–1947) | 14 February 1929 | 11 November 1934 | UK | Henry Mapp | ||||
| 4 | [[File:Evangeline Cory Booth.jpg | 60px]] | Evangeline Booth OF | |||||
| (1865–1950) | 11 November 1934 | 1 November 1939 | UK | |||||
| USA | ||||||||
| John McMillan | ||||||||
| Alfred G. Cunningham | ||||||||
| 5 | [[File:THE SAVELOY CLUB of the Salvation Army (cropped) George Carpenter.jpg | 60px]] | George Carpenter | |||||
| (1872–1948) | 1 November 1939 | 21 June 1946 | Australia | |||||
| Charles Baugh | ||||||||
| 6 | [[File:General Albert Orsborn (1951).jpg | 60px]] | Albert Orsborn | |||||
| (1886–1967) | 21 June 1946 | 1 July 1954 | UK | John Allan | ||||
| Edgar Dibden | ||||||||
| 7 | [[File:Installatie van Kolonel Palstra tot territoriaal leider van het Leger des Heils,, Bestanddeelnr 911-0245.jpg | 60px]] | Wilfred Kitching | |||||
| (1893–1977) | 1 July 1954 | 23 November 1963 | UK | |||||
| William J. Dray | ||||||||
| Norman F. Duggins | ||||||||
| Erik Wickberg | ||||||||
| 8 | {{CSS image crop | Image = Leger des Heils 80 jaar. Wethouder Jan Tabak van Amsterdam begroet Generaal Fre…, Bestanddeelnr 920-3452.jpg | bSize = 320 | cWidth = 60 | cHeight = 75 | oTop = 35 | oLeft = 185 | Frederick Coutts |
| (1899–1986) | ||||||||
| 9 | Erik Wickberg | |||||||
| (1904–1996) | 21 September 1969 | 6 July 1974 | Sweden | Arnold Brown | ||||
| 10 | Clarence Wiseman | |||||||
| (1907–1985) | 6 July 1974 | 5 July 1977 | Canada | Arthur E. Carr | ||||
| 11 | Arnold Brown | |||||||
| (1913–2002) | 5 July 1977 | 14 December 1981 | Canada | W. Stanley Cottrill | ||||
| 12 | [[File:Jarl-Wahlstrom-1960-cropped.jpg | 60px]] | Jarl Wahlström | |||||
| (1918–1999) | 14 December 1981 | 9 July 1986 | Finland | |||||
| Caughey Gauntlett | ||||||||
| 13 | [[File:GeneralEvaBurrows (cropped).jpg | 60px]] | Eva Burrows | |||||
| (1929–2015) | 9 July 1986 | 9 July 1993 | Australia | |||||
| Ron Cox | ||||||||
| Bramwell Tillsley | ||||||||
| 14 | Bramwell Tillsley | |||||||
| (1931–2019) | 9 July 1993 | 18 May 1994 | Canada | Earle Maxwell | ||||
| 15 | Paul Rader | |||||||
| (1934–2025) | 23 July 1994 | 23 July 1999 | USA | |||||
| 16 | [[File:Gowans Congress.jpg | 60px]] | John Gowans | |||||
| (1934–2012) | 23 July 1999 | 13 November 2002 | UK | John Larsson | ||||
| 17 | John Larsson | |||||||
| (1938–2022) | 13 November 2002 | 2 April 2006 | Sweden | Israel Gaither | ||||
| 18 | [[File:Shaw Clifton 30 juni 2007.jpg | 60px]] | Shaw Clifton | |||||
| (1945–2023) | 2 April 2006 | 2 April 2011 | United Kingdom | Robin Dunster | ||||
| Barry Swanson | ||||||||
| 19 | [[File:Bond College for Officers training.png | 60px]] | Linda Bond | |||||
| (born 1946) | 2 April 2011 | 13 June 2013 | Canada | |||||
| Andre Cox | ||||||||
| 20 | [[File:General André Cox.jpg | 60px]] | André Cox | |||||
| (born 1954) | 3 August 2013 | 3 August 2018 | UK Switzerland | William A. Roberts | ||||
| Brian Peddle | ||||||||
| 21 | [[File:Peddle IHQ.png | 60px]] | Brian Peddle | |||||
| (born 1957) | 3 August 2018 | 3 August 2023 | Canada | Lyndon Buckingham | ||||
| 22 | [[File:Lyndon Buckingham at Sunbury Court.png | 60px]] | Lyndon Buckingham | |||||
| 3 August 2023 | Incumbent | new zealand | Edward Hill |
Timeline
Below is a timeline of Salvation Army Generals' terms in office.
ImageSize = width:1600 height:auto barincrement:12 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late
DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1865 till:2028 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1865
Colors = id:GEN value:red legend:Term
Legend = columns:3 left:150 top:40 columnwidth:150
TextData = pos:(20,40) textcolor:black fontsize:M text:"General:"
BarData = barset:PM
PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:PM
from: 1865 till: 1912 color:GEN text:"W. Booth" fontsize:10 from: 1912 till: 1929 color:GEN text:"B. Booth" fontsize:10 from: 1929 till: 1934 color:GEN text:"Higgins" fontsize:10 from: 1934 till: 1939 color:GEN text:"E. Booth" fontsize:10 from: 1939 till: 1946 color:GEN text:"Carpenter" fontsize:10 from: 1946 till: 1954 color:GEN text:"Orsborn" fontsize:10 from: 1954 till: 1963 color:GEN text:"Kitching" fontsize:10 from: 1963 till: 1969 color:GEN text:"Coutts" fontsize:10 from: 1969 till: 1974 color:GEN text:"Wickberg" fontsize:10 from: 1974 till: 1977 color:GEN text:"Wiseman" fontsize:10 from: 1977 till: 1981 color:GEN text:"Brown" fontsize:10 from: 1981 till: 1986 color:GEN text:"Wahlstrom" fontsize:10 from: 1986 till: 1993 color:GEN text:"Burrows" fontsize:10 from: 1993 till: 1994 color:GEN text:"Tillsley" fontsize:10 from: 1994 till: 1999 color:GEN text:"Rader" fontsize:10 from: 1999 till: 2002 color:GEN text:"Gowans" fontsize:10 from: 2003 till: 2006 color:GEN text:"Larsson" fontsize:10 from: 2006 till: 2011 color:GEN text:"Clifton" fontsize:10 from: 2011 till: 2013 color:GEN text:"Bond" fontsize:10 from: 2013 till: 2018 color:GEN text:"Cox" fontsize:10 from: 2018 till: 2023 color:GEN text:"Peddle" fontsize:10 from: 2023 till: 2024 color:GEN text:"Buckingham" fontsize:10
Notes
References
References
- (22 May 2023). "2023 High Council: Day One".
- "The Salvation Army International - What is the High Council?".
- Coutts, John. (1977). "The Salvationists". A R Mowbray & Co Ltd.
- "Linda Bond Named General-Elect". Caring Magazine.
- "The Salvation Army International - Commissioner André Cox elected 20th General of The Salvation Army".
- "IHQ Announces Retirement of General Linda Bond". The Salvation Army.
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