Rev. François Phiaatae
6 September 2022, Karlsruhe, Germany: Rev. François Phiaatae, newly elected WCC president for the Pacific region at the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches is held in Karlsruhe, Germany from 31 August to 8 September, under the theme "Christ's Love Moves the World to Reconciliation and Unity."
Rev. François PHIAATAE, Maòhi Protestant Church/Église protestante Maohi
Rev. Francois Pihaatae is from Maohi Nui (French Polynesia), an ordained minister of the Etärëtia Porotetani Mäòhi (Mäòhi Protestant Church).
Rev. Pihaatae has extensive pastoral experience in the Pacific as a former PTC graduated Bachelor of Divinity student from 1989-1991. After his ordination in 1993 he served as parish minister at Rurutu in Austral Islands and Pirae, Papenoo, Tehaaehaa, in Tahiti.
In addition to his parish responsibilities Rev. Pihaatae was called on to take on broader leadership responsibilities when he was elected Chairman of a circuit of the church, a position he held for nearly ten years. As Chairman he was also an active member of the Church Executive Committee and Synod where he initiated many programs to benefit churches of the region.
Rev. Pihaatae gained significant global leadership experience when he served as a member of the World Council of Churches Commission for World Mission and Evangelism (CWME), 2000-2005, and the World Council of Churches Commission of Church International Affairs (CCIA), 2013-2022. He represented the aspirations of the churches of the Pacific in many international forums.
Rev. Pihaatae was appointed as Acting General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches in September 2011 in Samoa. And confirmed as general secretary in March 2013 – 2018, in the Solomon Islands. He raised the standard and the integrity of the Pacific Conference of Churches at the regional and International level, from a financial crisis. He stood with the nations of West Papua, Maohi Nui and Kanaky struggling for their self-determination and freedom from any forms of threats. Rev. Pihaatae was elected as President of the Etaretia Porotetani Mäòhi in 2019-2023.