The Archbishop of Cape Town has been announced as the new chair of Christian Aid.
The UK development and humanitarian agency said Most Rev Dr Thabo Makgoba, has a strong track-record of working on poverty and injustice in South Africa and globally.
Dr Makgoba, who is also the Metropolitan Church of Southern Africa has previously worked with Christian Aid on climate and economic justice.
He takes over from the previous Chair, Dame Sarah Mullally who has just become the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury.
Dr Makgoba has personally experienced marginalisation, spending his early years in Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, before his family was forcibly removed under apartheid laws and settled in Soweto.
In 2009, after receiving the degree of Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, from the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in New York City, he described it as an award for all South Africans who were denied access to education.
Archbishop Thabo pioneered the concept of "indaba" in the worldwide Anglican Communion as a means of getting to grips with difference, and was decorated by the Archbishop of Canterbury with the Cross of St Augustine for his role in the Communion.
Christian Aid CEO, Patrick Watt, said: “We are delighted to welcome Archbishop Thabo as the new chair of Christian Aid.
“Throughout his ministry he has walked alongside people who are poor and marginalised, and strived for a just world in which everyone has life before death.
“Archbishop Thabo's leadership will be invaluable as we work with partners across the world to tackle the root causes of poverty, in a fast-changing landscape.”
Since 2012, he has also served as Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape.
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