High Council of the Salvation Army
The High Council of the Salvation Army will elect a new General in the event of a vacancy or before retirement of the incumbent. The high council can also vote out the incumbent general if he can no longer perform his duties. The high council consists of the acting chief of staff , all active commanders (with the exception of the general's spouse), all active country leaders and territorial commanders. The High Council is not an executive, but rather an advisory body of the Salvation Army and the meetings take place at irregular intervals.
history
The high council was founded by William Booth in 1904 with the purpose of removing or replacing a general who was unable to perform his duties due to illness or general "unfit". The chief of staff invites all committee members to vote on the issue. If the high council reaches agreement that the incumbent general can no longer exercise his office, the high council elects a new general. Under normal circumstances, William Booth provided that the incumbent general would designate his successor himself. This has happened only once in the history of the Salvation Army, when William Booth designated his son Bramwell as his successor by means of a sealed letter that was only opened after his death in 1912. In 1928, due to illness, Bramwell Booth was unable to fulfill his duties and responsibilities as international leader of the Salvation Army for several months. He was asked to resign from his position. However, he refused. On January 8, 1929, the High Council met for the first time in the history of the Salvation Army, convened by the then Chief of Staff Edward J. Higgins . With 55 to 8 votes, the High Council elected the then 73-year-old Bramwell Booth from his office as general and on February 13, 1929 elected Edward J. Higgins as 3rd General of the Salvation Army. In 1931 the British Parliament, with the help of General Higgins, passed the Salvation Army Ordinance, which had far-reaching implications for the general's office:
- The abolition of the right for the incumbent general to choose his successor himself.
- A fixed age limit for the general's retirement from the age of 70.
- The establishment of a trust company to manage the real estate and all other capital assets of the Salvation Army instead of the sole management of the general.
In addition, British law requires that the High Council meet in Great Britain. However, it is not specified where.
Who can become a general?
The high council established by William Booth in 1904 was given the stipulation for the election of a new general that the elected member could either be a member of the high council or another person. However, since 1980 the nominee must be an officer in the Salvation Army. To this day, no general has been elected outside of the high council. So far, three women have been elected to the post of General of the Salvation Army.
How is a general elected?
invitation
Exactly four months before the acting general's duty ends, the chief of staff invites all active officers with the rank of commander (with the exception of the general's spouse) and all territorial heads to the meeting of the high council and the election of the next general. The date for the start of the meeting is usually seven weeks later. The meetings traditionally take place in Sunbury Court ( Sunbury-on-Thames ), near London .
Preliminary round
The high council first elects a president to chair the election.
nomination
The members of the high council are now starting to nominate possible candidates. Every member has the right to nominate someone for the election of the general. The only established criteria for this is that the proposed person is a Salvation Army officer and under 70 years of age. The Salvation Army has around 17,000 officers worldwide, all of whom could be nominated for election. However, it is most likely that the high council will nominate members from within its own ranks. Only those proposed by three or more members of the high council are considered nominated. If the nomination is accepted by the nominees, they are considered candidates. From this group of candidates, the High Council is called upon to elect the next General of the Salvation Army. After the candidates have been identified, the high council adjourned its session for one day to give the candidates and their spouses an opportunity to respond in writing to questions prepared by the high council. In addition, the candidates prepare their speech for presentation.
Questions and address
When the high council resumes its meeting and deliberations, the candidates and their spouses present their answers to the questions. Through this process of questions and answers, the High Council seeks to get to know the candidates better, learn more about their leadership style, personalities and views on issues affecting the Salvation Army and their ministry in general. Each candidate then gives his speech. There are no terms or conditions as to the length or subject of this speech. Candidates are free to choose what they want to talk about. However, they are obliged, like the answers to the questions, to submit their speech in writing beforehand. This, in the interests of fairness, prevents the speech from being changed again after the trial has started.
choice
After the answers to the questions and the speech, the election itself begins. Each member of the high council receives a ballot from the president who presides over the election. Each individual member then fills out the ballot in a specially designated room. During this process, the other members use the time to pray. The entire voting process takes place without haste and can take up to an hour for each ballot. After the voting is complete, the voting counters count the votes. The Salvation Army Ordinance of 1980, according to which the High Council meets, provides
- that in the first three ballots a candidate must be elected by more than two thirds of the members present,
- that from the fourth ballot a candidate only needs one vote more than half of the members present,
- that the candidate with the fewest votes in each ballot will be eliminated until only two candidates remain. Voting will continue until one of the candidates has received the required number of votes.
See also
- The Salvation Army
- Salvation Army generals
- Chief of Staff of the Salvation Army
- Salvation Army officer