Mark Hanson

Mark S. Hanson
Former Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Hanson speaking at the inauguration of Augsburg College President Paul C. Pribbenow on Oct. 20, 2006.
Church	Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Installed	October 6, 2001
Term ended	October 31, 2013
Predecessor	H. George Anderson
Successor	Elizabeth Eaton
Personal details
Birth name	Mark S. Hanson
Born	(1946-12-02) 2 December 1946 (age 70) Minneapolis, Minnesota
Nationality	United States
Denomination	Lutheran: ELCA
Residence	Chicago, Illinois
Spouse	Ione Agrimson Hanson
Children	Aaron, Alyssa, Rachel, Ezra, Isaac and Elizabeth
Alma mater	Augsburg College Union Theological Seminary Luther Seminary Harvard University Divinity School
Signature

Mark S. Hanson (born December 2, 1946) was the third Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Before being elected presiding bishop, he served as bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod. Prior to being elected Synod bishop, he served as pastor of three Minnesota congregations: Prince of Glory Lutheran Church, Minneapolis; Edina Community Lutheran Church; and University Lutheran Church of Hope in Minneapolis. In addition to serving as Presiding Bishop, Hanson was the 11th President of the Lutheran World Federation.

Mark S. Hanson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on December 2, 1946. He was raised in a Lutheran family in Minnesota. His father was a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Hanson graduated from Minnehaha Academy in 1964, and earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Augsburg College in 1968. He was a Rockefeller Fellow at Union Theological Seminary from 1968 to 1969, where he received a Master of Divinity degree in 1972, and attended Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota, from 1973 to 1974. He was a Merrill Fellow at Harvard University Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1979.