An experienced theologian and mediator between cultures

Dr. Emmanuel Kileo elected as new director of the Ev.-luth. Mission in Lower Saxony (ELM).

Dr. Emmanuel Kileo is the future director of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission in Lower Saxony (ELM). The theologian, who comes from Tanzania, is the first candidate from a non-European country to take up this office. He will take up his new post on Novembre 1 and succeeds Michael Thiel, who is retiring.

The Mission Committee, the highest decision-making body of the ELM, elected the new director on September 8, chaired by Hanover's regional bishop Ralf Meister.

"I am very pleased that with Dr. Emmanuel Kileo, for the first time a theologian from Tanzania and thus from the African continent is taking over the leadership of the Mission Agency. This is in line with the Mission Agency's claim to be a "partner in mission": Emmanuel Kileos activities in Tanzania and in the Bavarian regional church give him the knowledge to be a bridge builder between cultures and religions and a partner for the 17 partner churches of the mission agency," says regional bishop Ralf Meister.

Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Kileo has worked for more than 20 years in various capacities both in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) and as an ecumenical co-worker of the Lutheran Church in Bavaria. During this time he has been involved in both church congregational work and academic research. Among other things, he dealt with the topic of racism in church and charitable contexts. His book entitled "Whiteness as an Ideological Construct in South-North Partnerships" has received considerable attention.

Kileo also brings interreligious competence and a profound knowledge of different church traditions and realities in Europe and Africa - knowledge that also served him well during his eight years (2007 to 2014) as an ecumenical worker in the Bavarian regional church. "These eight years in the German society introduced me to different faces of South-North partnership work. I have experienced how important partnerships are in addressing our issues of faith and development together," says the 48 year old.

Until recently, Kileo worked for Stefano Moshi Memorial University College in Tanzania, including as vice president in administration and academic affairs. His responsibilities included management, leadership and teamwork, as well as the development of new university curricula that address the needs of an international community in partnership work.

What appeals to him most about working at ELM is its global networking. "I am happy to be able to learn from and with this international community. It is important to me that everyone can experience a 'safe space' within the organization and in the partner churches," says Dr. Emmanuel Kileo.