Munib Younan

منيب يونان

1950–present

Born: Jerusalem, Jordanian-administered Jerusalem

Domain: Civil Society & Religion

Recognition: GLOBAL

Biography

Munib Younan is a Palestinian Lutheran bishop who became one of the most globally prominent Christian leaders to emerge from the Holy Land, serving for seven years as president of the Lutheran World Federation. Born in Jerusalem in 1950 to a family of refugees, he grew up in the divided city and was shaped by the experience of dispossession and by the small but historic Arab Christian community of Palestine. He trained for ministry and rose through the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, becoming its bishop in 1998. In that role he led congregations, schools and institutions serving Palestinians of all faiths, championing education, healthcare and the dignity of a community under occupation. He is credited with translating the Augsburg Confession, a foundational Lutheran text, into Arabic, anchoring his church in its local language and context. In 2010 Younan was elected president of the Lutheran World Federation, a global communion representing tens of millions of Christians across dozens of countries, a position he held until 2017. From this platform he gave Palestinian Christianity an unprecedented international voice and worked tirelessly on reconciliation, religious freedom and justice. The defining moment of his presidency came in 2016, when he stood alongside Pope Francis in Lund, Sweden, to commemorate jointly the five hundredth anniversary of the Reformation, a historic act of Catholic-Lutheran reconciliation watched around the world. A committed interfaith leader, Younan has also been deeply engaged in Christian-Muslim and Christian-Jewish dialogue and in advocacy for a just peace. For civil society and religion, Younan matters as a Palestinian who reached the highest levels of global Christian leadership while remaining rooted in his community's struggle, demonstrating that the indigenous churches of the Holy Land can speak with authority on the world stage. He continues to write, teach and advocate as a bishop emeritus.

Why This Person Matters

As president of the Lutheran World Federation and the bishop who stood with Pope Francis at the 2016 Reformation commemoration, Younan gave Palestinian Christianity an unprecedented global voice.