Connect with us

Media

List of presidents of the Seventh Day Adventist Church from 1863 till date – Updated

Updated – 2022.

The Seventh Day Adventist Church runs a democratic system of government which means decisions are made by elected committees through the vote of church members led by the Holy Spirit.

The organization structure of the church:

  • General Conference
  • Division
  • Union Conference/Mission
  • Conference/Mission
  • District
  • Local Church

A President is elected at the General Conference Session every 5 years and presides over the Executive Committee.

Full list of G.C Presidents from 1863 till date with their respective pictures.

1. John Byington

He was the first president of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Country: United States
Duration: 1863-1865

John Byington
List of Presidents Of The Seventh Day Adventist Church From 1863 Till Date

2. James Springer White: He was also known as Elder J White and the husband of an Adventist pioneer, Author and prophetess – E.G White
Country: United State
Duration: 1865-1867

List of Presidents Of The Seventh Day Adventist Church From 1863 Till Date
List of Presidents Of The Seventh Day Adventist Church From 1863 Till Date

3. John N. Andrews -He was elected as the third president of the General Conference in 1867, following John Byington and James White.
Country: United States
Duration: 1867-1869

List of Presidents Of The Seventh Day Adventist Church From 1863 Till Date

4. James Springer White– He was re-elected as the president of Seventh Day Adventist church in 1869
Country: United States
Duration: 1869-1871

James Springer White

5. George I Butler- He replaced James White as president of the general conference in 1871
Country:United States
Duration: 1871-1874

George I Butler

6. James Springer White – He returned to the presidency in 1874 to becomes the 6th president of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Country: United States
Duration: 1874-1880

George I Butler-

7. George I Butler: He resumed the office again in 1880
Country: United States
Duration: 1880-1888

George I Butler:

8. Ole A. Oslen: The 1888 General Conference Session elected Olsen as president.
Country: Norway
Duration: 1888-1897

Ole A. Oslen

9. George A. Irwin: He was elected President of the General Conference at the General Conference session held in Lincoln, Nebraska
Country: United States.
Duration: 1897-1901

George A. Irwin

10. Arthur G. Daniells: He happened to be the longest serving president of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Country: United States
Duration: 1901-1922

Arthur G. Daniells:

11. Williams A. Spicer: With the experience acquired as General Conference Secretary, Spicer was elected as president of the Seventh Day Adventist Church during the 1922 General Conference session
Country: United States
Duration: 1922-1930

Williams A. Spicer
Williams A. Spicer

12. Charles H. Watson: From 1922- 1926, he served as vice-president and associate treasurer of the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventist. He returned to North America in 1930 to attend the General Conference Session, where he was elected President of the General Conference
Country: Australia
Duration: 1930-1936

Charles H. Watson
Charles H. Watson

13. James L. McElhany
Duration: 1936-1950

James L. McElhany

14. William Henry Branson: He was elected as president of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in 1950.
Country: United States
Duration: 1950-1954

William Henry Branson

15. Reuben Richard Figuhr:15th President of the General Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist Church
Country: United States
Duration: 1954-1966

Reuben Richard Figuhr
Reuben Richard Figuhr

16. Robert H.Pierson: Pierson was the third-longest serving president of the General Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist Church
Country: United States
Duration: 1966-1979

Robert H.Pierson
Robert H.Pierson

17. Neal C.Wilson:
Country: United States
Duration: 1979-1990

 Neal C.Wilson
Neal C.Wilson

18. Robert S Folkenberg:
Country: Puerto Rico
Duration: 1990-1999

Robert S Folkenberg
Robert S Folkenberg

19. Jan Paulsen: 19th President of the General Conference of Seventh day Adventist Church
Country:Norway
Duration: 1999-2010

 Jan Paulsen
List of Presidents Of The Seventh Day Adventist Church From 1863 Till Date

20. Ted N.C. Wilson: He is the current president of the General Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist Church
Country: United States

Duration: 2010- Till Date

List of Adventist Institutions in Nigeria and Their Addresses updated

List of Presidents Of The Seventh Day Adventist Church From 1863 Till Date
List of Presidents Of The Seventh Day Adventist Church From 1863 Till Date
12 Comments

12 Comments

  1. Anonymous

    November 11, 2016 at 9:25 pm

    nice collection, am happy to see the face of seventh day adventist leaders

    • Tobias Abongo

      October 16, 2022 at 5:21 pm

      Where are Africans in your leadership from the time of missionary 1906 in Kenya in particular. I may not know other African countries when white missionary arrived in their Nations.In Kenya at Rapedhi it came 1926 before migrating to Kendu Bay where it has established publishing house. I have only seen Americans in the top leadership since 1863 with only 3 Non Americans( 2 Norwegian and a Puerto Ricoan ) No African,South American ,Asian no Jewish Israelite etc.Let the church bring abouy policies which can help build wealth creation with intention of reducing poverty in Africa because the church has become an equal employer. This can be done by better policies from the helm of the church eg projects and programmes meant to curb poverty in Rural African missions conferences and divisions.

  2. Unknown

    February 5, 2017 at 8:13 pm

    An African should become the next president because we all own the church, soon christ may return.James Onyendi

    • Rene banaag

      November 6, 2020 at 7:44 pm

      Is color and race a requirement for serving the Lord? How about Asians?

    • ODHIAMBO CALPHONCE

      September 17, 2021 at 4:16 pm

      Surely we have nothing to fear for the future ,unless we forget how the LORD GOD has led us in the past.

  3. Marygrace

    July 22, 2017 at 5:50 pm

    All old, white males! That is what is so wrong with this line-up. Not representative of the church at all!

    • ireneo banaag

      November 6, 2020 at 7:36 pm

      Have you asked also why there are no Asians? Why think only of your race or color?

  4. Unknown

    July 23, 2017 at 3:00 am

    Fair point. But maturity is necessary.

  5. AGBOR JACKSON NFORTEN

    October 31, 2017 at 10:53 pm

    after going through the past and present SDA presidents ,i realise that there have never been an African eleted at the helme of SDA why.?

  6. Nana Osei

    December 5, 2017 at 4:26 pm

    Nice one , how I wish to be the first Adventist from Africa to be the General conference president.
    I’m really privileged to be a Seventh-day Adventist.

  7. Robert Rutto

    February 1, 2018 at 1:46 pm

    Would like to learn more about Biography of SDA president and achievement

  8. Commins Pinuru

    October 30, 2020 at 11:27 am

    How I wish to see any black person to be a general conference president in the near future

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.