Annette Kurschus (born 14 February 1963 in

Rotenburg an der Fulda Rotenburg an der Fulda (officially ''Rotenburg a.d. Fulda'') is a town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany lying, as the name says, on the river Fulda. Geography Location The town lies south of the Stölzinger Geb ...

) is a German Protestant theologian and pastor. Since March 2012 she has been

Praeses ''Praeses'' (Latin ''praesides'') is a Latin word meaning "placed before" or "at the head". In antiquity, notably under the Roman Dominate, it was used to refer to Roman governors; it continues to see some use for various modern positions. ...

(or in German ''Präses'') of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia and since November 2015 she has also been Vice-President of the Council of the

Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (german: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated EKD) is a federation of twenty Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinist) and United (e.g. Prussian Union) Protestant regional churches and denominations in German ...

(EKD). In 2021 she became President of the Council of the EKD.

Origin and education

Annette Kurschus grew up in Obersuhl in Hessen and in Siegen. Her father Georg Kurschus (1930–2017) was a protestant pastor at the Nikolai Church in Siegen. After graduating from high school in Siegen in 1982, she studied medicine for a short time, and since 1983 Protestant theology at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

, the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

, the

University of Münster The University of Münster (german: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, WWU) is a public research university located in the city of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. With more than 43,000 students and over 120 fields of stud ...

and at the ''Kirchliche Hochschule Wuppertal''. She completed her vicariate in Siegen-Eiserfeld.

Career and position

After her vicariate Annette Kurschus became parish priest in Siegen-Klafeld in 1993 and in Siegen-Weidenau in 1999. Since 2001 she was also deputy superintendent of the Evangelical Church District of Siegen. From 2005 to 2012 she held the function of Superintendent of the Evangelical Church District of Siegen. In November 2011 she was elected by the Westphalian regional synod as

of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia (EKvW) and was introduced into the function of the leading clergy on 4 March 2012. Since November 2015 Annette Kurschus has also been a member of the Council of the

and deputy chairwoman of the Council, and since 2016 commissioner of the EKD Council for relations with the Polish churches. On 20 November 2019 Annette Kurschus was confirmed in the function of the

and re-elected for a further term.

Further functions

Annette Kurschus is co-editor of the protestant magazine chrismon and the protestant monthly magazine zeitzeichen. She is chairwoman of the board of the Evangelical Press Association and of the supervisory board of the German Bible Society. Furthermore she is a member of the board of trustees of the Detmold University of Music and since 2020 she is a member of the university council of the

Award

The

awarded Kurschus an honorary doctorate (Dr. theol. h.c.) on 28 January 2019. She received the award due to her merits concerning the dialogue between religion and society.''Uni Münster: Theologische Ehrendoktorwürde für Präses Annette Kurschus''
called on 15. April 2020

References

External links

Biography on the website of the Protestant Church in Westphalia (German)

Editor's column in the monthly magazine chrismon (German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurschus, Annette 1963 births Living people People from Rotenburg an der Fulda University of Marburg alumni University of Bonn alumni University of Münster alumni 21st-century German Lutheran clergy Women Lutheran clergy 20th-century German Lutheran clergy