Norman Shanks

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Norman Shanks is an ordained Church of Scotland Minister, formerly Minister of Govan Old Parish Church in Glasgow (prior to his retirement in June 2007). He is married to Ruth, and has a daughter and two sons, and five grandchildren.

He was Convener of the General Assembly's Committee on Church and Nation from 1988 to 1992. Before entering the ministry he served as a senior civil servant from 1964 to 1979.

He served as Moderator of the Presbytery of Glasgow from June 2002 to June 2003 and was Leader of the Iona Community from 1995 to 2002. From 1998 to 2006 he was a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches and served as moderator of the planning committee for the 9th Assembly of the WCC, held in Porto Alegre, Brazil in February 2006.

He received an honorary DD from the University of Glasgow in June 2006 and was one of three candidates for nomination to be Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 2007 (the actual nominee was the Rev Sheilagh M. Kesting). He is currently (Sepember to December 2007)a visiting scholar at Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgis USA.