The president of the General Conference is the head of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, the governing body of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The president's office is within the offices of the General Conference, located in Silver Spring, Maryland.[1] As of June 2010, the current president is Ted N. C. Wilson.
Traditionally, the post has been held by an American. Of the 17 presidents, 13 were born in the United States, 1 born in Puerto Rico to North American missionaries, 1 born in Australia and 2 born in Norway, of whom one emigrated to the U.S. at age 5.
| Portrait | President | Took office | Left office | Length | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Byington (1798 – 1887) | 20 March 1863 | 17 May 1865 | 2 Years, 2 months | ||
| 2 | James Springer White (4 August 1821 – 6 August 1881) | 17 May 1865 | 14 May 1867 | 2 Years | ||
| 3 | John Nevins Andrews (22 July 1829 – 21 October 1883) | 1867 | 1869 | 2 Years | ||
| 4 | James Springer White (4 August 1821 – 6 August 1881) | 1869 | 1871 | 2 Years | ||
| 5 | George Ide Butler (1834 – 1918) | 1871 | 1874 | 3 Years | ||
| 6 | James Springer White (4 August 1821 – 6 August 1881) | 1874 | 1880 | 6 Years | ||
| 7 | George Ide Butler (1834 – 1918) | 1880 | 1888 | 8 Years | ||
| 8 | Ole Andres Olsen (28 July 1845 – 29 January 1915) | 1888 | 1897 | 9 Years | ||
| 9 | George A. Irwin (17 November 1844 – 23 May 1913) | 1897 | 1901 | 4 Years | ||
| 10 | Arthur Grosvenor Daniells (28 September 1858 – 18 April 1935) | 1901 | 1922 | 21 Years | ||
| 11 | William Ambrose Spicer (1865 – 1952) | 1922 | 1930 | 8 Years | ||
| 12 | Charles H. Watson (8 October 1877 – 24 December 1962) | 1930 | 1936 | 6 Years | ||
| 13 | James Lamar McElhany (3 January 1880 – 25 June 1959) | 1936 | 1950 | 14 Years | ||
| 14 | William Henry Branson (1887 – 1961) | 1950 | 1954 | 4 Years | ||
| 15 | Reuben Richard Figuhr (20 October 1896 – 28 October 1983) | 1954 | 1966 | 12 Years | ||
| 16 | Robert H. Pierson (1911 – 1989) | 1966 | 1979 | 13 Years | ||
| 17 | Neal C. Wilson (5 July 1920 – 14 December 2010) | 3 January 1979 | 6 July 1990 | 11 Years, 6 months | ||
| 18 | Robert S. Folkenberg (1 January 1941 – 24 December 2015) | 6 July 1990 | 8 February 1999[2] [3] | 8 Years, 8 months | ||
| 19 | Jan Paulsen[4] (5 January 1935 –) | 1 March 1999 | 23 June 2010 | 11 Years, 3 months | ||
| 20 | Ted N. C. Wilson (10 May 1950 –) | 23 June 2010[5] | present[6] | – |