Andrews University awarded Audrey Andersson a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, on August 2, 2026, for her distinguished leadership in the global Seventh-day Adventist Church, her lifelong commitment to Christian communication and mission, and her faithful service across cultures. Dr. Andersson, general vice president for the Seventh-day Adventist World Church, has devoted her career to advancing Christian leadership, effective communication, and global mission. Her career began with a successful tenure in journalism and communications before she transitioned into denominational leadership.
Kind, cheerful, generous, and experienced leader, Audrey Andersson is the first European woman to serve as vice president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Until she was elected on June 7, 2022, she was the first woman to serve as Executive Secretary for the Trans-European Division (TED).
Audrey Andersson is Irish by birth and Swedish by choice and adoption. She was born in Ireland and grew up in a pastor’s family, moving around the British Isles and Canada. However, in 1993 she married a Swedish farmer and
became a naturalised Swede some years later. She trained for ministry at Newbold College, obtaining her BA in Theology. She made a detour into the publishing world, working as a Legal Editor in London, where, among other things, she developed and ran one of the first daily online news services from the UK High Court. Subsequently, she ran
her own communications company in Sweden.
In 2002, she was called to work for the Swedish Union of Churches as Executive Secretary, Communications Director and Women's Ministries Director, a position she held until 2010 when she was called to serve as the Executive Secretary of the TED. Looking back, the detour into the business world uniquely equipped her for her Secretariat role. While working in Sweden, she completed her Master's degree in Pastoral Ministry at Newbold College, England.
At the 2022 General Conference Session in St. Louis, Missouri, she was elected as General Vice President, a position that she still serves in. Her burden is winning, nurturing and reclaiming people for God’s Kingdom and helping people, particularly women, to achieve their full potential.
Audrey is the liaison for Women’s Ministries at the leadership level of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist World Church.
We are delighted that Audrey Andersson was awarded the Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, which she fully deserves for her distinguished leadership.