List of presidents of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

The president of the General Conference is the head of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, the governing body of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The president's office is within the offices of the General Conference, located in Silver Spring, Maryland.^[1] As of June 2010, the current president is Ted N. C. Wilson.

Traditionally, the post has been held by an American. Of the 17 presidents, 13 were born in the United States, 1 born in Puerto Rico to North American missionaries, 1 born in Australia and 2 born in Norway, of whom one emigrated to the U.S. at age 5.

Presidents of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

No.	Portrait	President	Took office	Left office	Length
1		John Byington (1798 – 1887)	20 March 1863	17 May 1865	2 Years, 2 months
2		James Springer White (4 August 1821 – 6 August 1881)	17 May 1865	14 May 1867	2 Years
3		John Nevins Andrews (22 July 1829 – 21 October 1883)	1867	1869	2 Years
4		James Springer White (4 August 1821 – 6 August 1881)	1869	1871	2 Years
5		George Ide Butler (1834 – 1918)	1871	1874	3 Years
6		James Springer White (4 August 1821 – 6 August 1881)	1874	1880	6 Years
7		George Ide Butler (1834 – 1918)	1880	1888	8 Years
8		Ole Andres Olsen (28 July 1845 – 29 January 1915)	1888	1897	9 Years
9		George A. Irwin (17 November 1844 – 23 May 1913)	1897	1901	4 Years
10		Arthur Grosvenor Daniells (28 September 1858 – 18 April 1935)	1901	1922	21 Years
11		William Ambrose Spicer (1865 – 1952)	1922	1930	8 Years
12		Charles H. Watson (8 October 1877 – 24 December 1962)	1930	1936	6 Years
13		James Lamar McElhany (3 January 1880 – 25 June 1959)	1936	1950	14 Years
14		William Henry Branson (1887 – 1961)	1950	1954	4 Years
15		Reuben Richard Figuhr (20 October 1896 – 28 October 1983)	1954	1966	12 Years
16		Robert H. Pierson (1911 – 1989)	1966	1979	13 Years
17		Neal C. Wilson (5 July 1920 – 14 December 2010)	3 January 1979	6 July 1990	11 Years, 6 months
18		Robert S. Folkenberg (1 January 1941 – 24 December 2015)	6 July 1990	8 February 1999[2][3]	8 Years, 8 months
19		Jan Paulsen[4] (5 January 1935 – )	1 March 1999	23 June 2010	11 Years, 3 months
20		Ted N. C. Wilson (10 May 1950 – )	23 June 2010[5]	present[6]	–

See also

• General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
• Seventh-day Adventist Church

References

1. "Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters". American Automobile Association. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
2. Murphy, Caryle (1999-02-09). "Adventist Leader Resigns Over Controversy". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
3. Lichtblaue, Eric (1999-02-09). "Seventh-Day Adventist Leader Resigns Over Financial Queries". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
4. General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (March 12, 2007). "143rd Annual Statistical Report—2005" (PDF). adventistarchives.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 5, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2009.
5. Poole, Shelia (2010-06-25). "Ted Wilson elected new president of Seventh-day Adventist Church". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
6. "Ted Wilson re-elected as president of Seventh-day Adventists General Conference". LBS NewsDay. 2022-06-07. Retrieved 2022-08-12.