Samuel Kobia

Samuel Kobia (born March 20, 1947 in Miathene, Meru, Kenya), a Methodist clergyman, was elected General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in August 2003, and took up his new post in January 2004. He has announced that he will not seek a second term. Kobia's resignation has come as a surprise to the Central Committee, and has their "full support" despite harsh criticism from Rt Revd Martin Hein until his term comes to an end.

Kobia studied at St Paul’s United Theological College (Kenya), McCormick Theological Seminary (U.S.) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA, 1978).

Kobia is married to Ruth, and they have two daughters, Kaburo and Nkatha, and two sons, Mwenda and Mutua.

In 2005, he rejected the accusation of anti-Zionism against the WCC and stated that anti-Semitism is a "sin against God and man" and "absolutely irreconcilable with the profession and practice of the Christian faith," quoting from the first assembly of the WCC in Amsterdam in 1948. He has nevertheless been critical of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, calling it "a sin against God".

The same year, he paid a tribute to Pope John Paul II on behalf of his efforts for ecumenism.