# Mark Hanson

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{{short description|American bishop (born 1946)}}
{{other people}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Bishop
| name = Mark S. Hanson 
| title = Former Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
| image = Mark hanson.jpg
| imagesize = 
| alt = 
| caption = Hanson speaking at the inauguration of [Augsburg University](/source/Augsburg_University) President Paul C. Pribbenow on Oct. 20, 2006.
| church = [Evangelical Lutheran Church in America](/source/Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_in_America)
| archdiocese = 
| province = 
| metropolis = 
| diocese = 
| see = 
| term_start = October 6, 2001
| term_end = October 31, 2013
| predecessor = [H. George Anderson](/source/H._George_Anderson)
| opposed = 
| successor = [Elizabeth Eaton](/source/Elizabeth_Eaton)
| ordination = 
| consecration = 
| cardinal = 
| rank = 
| other_post = 
<!---------- Personal details ---------->
| birth_name = Mark S. Hanson
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1946|12|2|df=y}}
| birth_place = [Minneapolis](/source/Minneapolis%2C_MN), [Minnesota](/source/Minnesota)
| nationality = American
| religion = [Lutheran](/source/Lutheran): [ELCA](/source/Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_in_America)
| residence = [Chicago](/source/Chicago%2C_Illinois), [Illinois](/source/Illinois)
| parents = 
| spouse = Ione Agrimson Hanson
| children = Aaron, Alyssa, Rachel, Ezra, Isaac and Elizabeth
| occupation = 
| profession = 
| alma_mater = [Augsburg University](/source/Augsburg_University)<br/>[Union Theological Seminary](/source/Union_Theological_Seminary_in_the_City_of_New_York)<br/>[Luther Seminary](/source/Luther_Seminary)<br/>[Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) [Divinity School](/source/Harvard_Divinity_School)
| signature = Signature of Bishop Mark Hanson.gif
}}

'''Mark S. Hanson''' (born December 2, 1946) is an American bishop who served as the third Presiding Bishop of the [Evangelical Lutheran Church in America](/source/Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_in_America). Before being elected presiding bishop, he served as bishop of the [Saint Paul Area Synod](/source/Saint_Paul_Area_Synod) as well as pastor of three [Minnesota](/source/Minnesota) congregations: Prince of Glory Lutheran Church, [Minneapolis](/source/Minneapolis); Edina Community Lutheran Church; and University Lutheran Church of Hope in [Minneapolis](/source/Minneapolis).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gloriadeistpaul.org/About_Bishop_Hanson.html |title=Gloria dei: About Bishop Mark S. Hanson. |accessdate=2010-01-25 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009134146/http://www.gloriadeistpaul.org/About_Bishop_Hanson.html |archivedate=2011-10-09 }}</ref> In addition to serving as Presiding Bishop, Hanson was the 11th [President](/source/President_(corporate_title)) of the [Lutheran World Federation](/source/Lutheran_World_Federation).

== Early life and education ==
Mark S. Hanson was born in [Minneapolis](/source/Minneapolis), Minnesota, on December 2, 1946. He was raised in a [Lutheran](/source/Lutheranism) family in Minnesota. His father was a pastor in the [Evangelical Lutheran Church](/source/Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_(United_States)). Hanson graduated from [Minnehaha Academy](/source/Minnehaha_Academy) in 1964, and earned a bachelor's degree in [sociology](/source/sociology) from [Augsburg University](/source/Augsburg_University) in 1968. He was a Rockefeller Fellow at [Union Theological Seminary](/source/Union_Theological_Seminary_in_the_City_of_New_York) from 1968 to 1969, where he received a Master of Divinity degree in 1972, and attended [Luther Seminary](/source/Luther_Seminary), [St. Paul](/source/Saint_Paul%2C_MN), [Minnesota](/source/Minnesota), from 1973 to 1974. He was a Merrill Fellow at [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) [Divinity School](/source/Harvard_Divinity_School), [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge%2C_MA), [Massachusetts](/source/Massachusetts), in 1979.

== Religious career ==
Following his [ordination](/source/ordination) in 1974, Hanson served as pastor at Prince of Glory Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1973 to 1979; Edina Community Lutheran Church, [Edina](/source/Edina%2C_Minnesota), Minnesota, from 1979 to 1988; and University Lutheran Church of Hope, Minneapolis, from 1988 to 1995. He was elected Bishop of the [Saint Paul Area Synod](/source/Saint_Paul_Area_Synod) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in 1995, and had been reelected to a second term prior to his election as Presiding Bishop of the ELCA in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wfn.org/2003/07/msg00305.html |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2010-01-25 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613163325/http://www.wfn.org/2003/07/msg00305.html |archivedate=2011-06-13 }}</ref>

In 2003, Hanson was elected President of the [Lutheran World Federation](/source/Lutheran_World_Federation), a role which he served concurrently with his role as ELCA Presiding Bishop. He serves on the executive council on the executive board of the [National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.](/source/National_Council_of_Churches) Hanson is author of ''Faithful Yet Changing: The Church in Challenging Times'' (Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis: 2002).  In 2007 Hanson was reelected on the second ballot, making him the longest-serving Presiding Bishop in the ELCA's history.

=== Bishop of the ELCA ===

In 2005, he mourned the death of Pope [John Paul II](/source/John_Paul_II), especially for his contributions to the ecumenical movement.<ref>[http://archive.elca.org/bishop/messages/m_pope.html Statement of the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA Presiding Bishop, Upon the Death of Pope John Paul II] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601010513/http://archive.elca.org/bishop/messages/m_pope.html |date=2009-06-01 }}</ref> Since being elected presiding bishop, he has received several honorary degrees, including Doctor of Humane Letters from [Augsburg University](/source/Augsburg_University), [Augustana College (Illinois)](/source/Augustana_College_(Illinois)), [Wittenberg University](/source/Wittenberg_University), and [Grand View University](/source/Grand_View_University), Doctor of Humanities from [Capital University](/source/Capital_University), Doctor of Divinity from [Lenoir-Rhyne College](/source/Lenoir-Rhyne_College), [Wartburg Theological Seminary](/source/Wartburg_Theological_Seminary), [Susquehanna University](/source/Susquehanna_University), [Wartburg College](/source/Wartburg_College), and The Academy of Ecumenical Indian Theology and Church Administration. Mark Hanson was Presiding Bishop of the ELCA from 2001-2013, when Bishop [Elizabeth Eaton](/source/Elizabeth_Eaton) was elected as the next Presiding Bishop of the ELCA at the 2013 Churchwide Assembly in Pittsburgh, PA.

== Personal life==
He is married to Ione (Agrimson) Hanson from [Hettinger, North Dakota](/source/Hettinger%2C_North_Dakota). Before the Hansons moved to Chicago, she was director of social work at Minneapolis and St. Paul Children's Hospitals. The Hansons are the parents of six children.<ref>[http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Office-of-the-Presiding-Bishop/Meet-Bishop-Hanson.aspx Meet Bishop Hanson] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515092808/http://www.elca.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Three-Expressions/Churchwide-Organization/Office-of-the-Presiding-Bishop/Meet-Bishop-Hanson.aspx |date=2008-05-15 }}</ref>

== Selected works ==
He is the author of ''Faithful Yet Changing; the Church in Challenging Times'', and ''Faithful and Courageous; Christians in Unsettling Times'',  both from [Augsburg Fortress](/source/Augsburg_Fortress) Publishers.

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
*https://www.elca.org/About/Churchwide/Office-of-the-Presiding-Bishop
*[https://www.elca.org/About/History/Former-Presiding-Bishops/The-Rev-Mark-Hanson Presiding Bishop Biography]

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|luth}}
{{succession box |
    title=Bishop of the [Saint Paul Area Synod](/source/Saint_Paul_Area_Synod) |
    before=Lowell Erdahl |
    after=Paul Werger |
    years=1995–2001}}
{{succession box |
    title=Presiding Bishop of the [Evangelical Lutheran Church in America](/source/Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_in_America) |
    before=[H. George Anderson](/source/H._George_Anderson) |
    after=[Elizabeth Eaton](/source/Elizabeth_Eaton) |
    years=2001&ndash;2013 }}
{{succession box |
    title=President of the [Lutheran World Federation](/source/Lutheran_World_Federation) |
    before= Christian Krause|
    after=[Munib Younan](/source/Munib_Younan) |
    years=2003–2010 }}
{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanson, Mark}}
Category:1945 births
Category:Living people
Category:Clergy from Minneapolis
Category:Harvard Divinity School faculty
Category:Presiding Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Category:20th-century American Lutheran bishops
Category:21st-century Lutheran bishops
Category:Augsburg University alumni
Category:Writers from Minneapolis
Category:Luther Seminary alumni
Category:Bishops in Minnesota

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mark Hanson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Hanson) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Hanson?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.