Barack Obama's Inauguration Is a Landmark Transformative Event Globally‏

LWF General Secretary Congratulates 44th President of the USA

Congratulating President Barack Hussein Obama on his inauguration today as the 44th President of the United States of America, the General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko (pictured left) describes this occasion as a landmark of the beginning of the 21st century, and a transformative event for the whole world.


In a statement released today, (embargoed until the inauguration) the general secretary compares Obama's induction into office to that of former South African President Nelson Mandela, who although mandated for presidency by his people, assumed a global role, becoming "everyone's president."

"Obama's inauguration is, for the USA and for the world, a similarly transformative event," says Noko. It sends the clearest possible message of the American people's willingness "to be challenged and to challenge the politics of racial and other forms of division. It calls for the creation of a true union of all US citizens. It also invites all of us around the world to examine our own contexts and to do the same," he adds.

He notes that Obama's election raised a tidal wave of hope around the world after a period in which the USA and much of the rest of the world became estranged from each other, and against the background of an economic and humanitarian crisis. "Today, with his inauguration, the weight of all those hopes and expectations falls heavily on his shoulders," says Noko.

He joins many other religious leaders in the USA and around the world in praying that the new president will be given the wisdom and strength to bear the burden of so much hope toward the goals of justice and dignity that he has so powerfully articulated at home and globally.


For more full text of Dr. Noko's statement; click here