General of The Salvation Army

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.

General of The Salvation Army
Incumbent Brian Peddle since 3 August 2018
Style	General
Residence	London, United Kingdom
Appointer	High Council
Term length	Five years, which may be extended up to a maximum of seven years But must be under 68 years old
Constituting instrument	Parliament of the United Kingdom[1][note 1]
Inaugural holder	William Booth 1865

History and procedures for election

Usage of the term "general" 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 choose his successor, but the Salvation Army Act of 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 since Bramwell Booth has been selected by the High Council.[1]. In accordance with the Salvation Army Act of 1931, a general must "retire" at age 68 and may serve as long as seven years.[2] The general is elected by the High Council when his 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 his "covenant to God", disability, or the inability to fulfill his 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).[3]

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.[4] The High Council of 2018 selected Brian Peddle as Cox's successor in May 2018; he took office in August 2018. [5]

List of Living Retired Generals

As of May 2020, there are five retired generals living. The most recent general to die was Bramwell Tillsley in November 2019.

• Paul Rader
• John Larsson
• Shaw Clifton
• Linda Bond
• Andre Cox

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.

Generals of The Salvation Army

No.	General	Took office	Left office	Nationality	Born	Died
1st	William Booth, OBE	2 July 1865	20 August 1912		10 April 1829	20 August 1912
2nd	Bramwell Booth, CH	21 August 1912	8 January 1929		8 March 1856	16 June 1929
3rd	Edward Higgins	13 February 1929	11 November 1934		26 November 1864	14 December 1947
4th	Evangeline Booth, OF	11 November 1934	1 November 1939	,	25 December 1865	17 July 1950
5th	George Carpenter	1 November 1939	21 June 1946		20 June 1872	9 April 1948
6th	Albert Orsborn	21 June 1946	1 July 1954		4 September 1886	4 February 1967
7th	Wilfred Kitching, CBE	1 July 1954	23 November 1963		22 August 1893	15 December 1977
8th	Frederick Coutts, CBE	23 November 1963	21 September 1969		21 September 1899	6 February 1986
9th	Erik Wickberg	21 September 1969	6 July 1974		6 July 1904	26 April 1996
10th	Clarence Wiseman, OC	6 July 1974	5 July 1977		19 June 1907	4 May 1985
11th	Arnold Brown, OC	5 July 1977	14 December 1981		13 December 1913	26 June 2002
12th	Jarl Wahlström	14 December 1981	9 July 1986		9 July 1918	3 December 1999
13th	Eva Burrows, AC	9 July 1986	9 July 1993		15 September 1929	20 March 2015
14th	Bramwell Tillsley	9 July 1993	18 May 1994		18 August 1931	2 November 2019
15th	Paul Rader	23 July 1994	23 July 1999		14 March 1934
16th	John Gowans	23 July 1999	13 November 2002		13 November 1934	8 December 2012
17th	John Larsson	13 November 2002	2 April 2006		2 April 1938
18th	Shaw Clifton	2 April 2006	2 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

Timeline

Below is a timeline of Salvation Army Generals' terms in office.

Notes

1. The Salvation Army Acts of 1931 and 1980 of the UK Parliament govern the selection of a general via the High Council of The Salvation Army.

References

1. "What is the High Council?".
2. Coutts, John (1977). The Salvationists. Oxford, England: A R Mowbray & Co Ltd. p. 27. ISBN 0-264-66071-4.
3. "Linda Bond Named General-Elect". New Frontier Online. New Frontier Publications. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
4. http://www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/news/inr030813
5. https://www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/highcouncil2018

External links

• Official website