General Secretary

of the Anthroposophical Society in America

Qualifications and Duties

The following qualifications and list of duties are not intended to be exhaustive but to give a sense of what qualities are needed by a person to fulfill the role of General Secretary.

A General Secretary shall be a member in good standing of the Anthroposophical Society in America and shall be an active member of the School for Spiritual Science. It is not required that a General Secretary be a Class Holder.

Nominees for General Secretary should possess many of the following qualities:

§ They have the general recognition of the members as demonstrating leadership within the Society.

§ They are persons of integrity and personal maturity who inspire trust in others.

§ They are good public speakers and communicate clearly.

§ They value the unique qualities of the work of Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy.

§ They cultivate an active inner life based on Anthroposophy and are able to assist others in such inner work.

§ They have a deep familiarity with Anthroposophy through years of study and inner work.

§ They have demonstrated administrative ability.

§ They work well with others and are comfortable in a team environment.

§ They are highly organized and can develop and hold a vision while working with the details necessary to implement it.

§ They have the ability to take initiative.

§ They can commit the time necessary to adequately fulfill the tasks described here.

§ They are able to maintain fortitude in the face of adversity.

§ Ideally the candidate should have enough proficiency in German to understand presentations at the General Secretaries meetings and be able to read documents pertaining to the meetings. He or she should also be willing to increase their knowledge of the German language. At present these meetings are conducted in German and English, and all General Secretaries are expected to understand both languages although they can express their views in either language.

The principal tasks of the General Secretary at this time are the following:

1. To represent Anthroposophy in the world.

2. To work with the General Council and others to build imaginations and plans regarding the Society’s future development.

3. To be active within the work of the School for Spiritual Science.

4. To cultivate anthroposophical individual and community life in the United States.

5. To further the role of regional work in this country and work closely with the regional representatives and Regional Councils.

6. To work closely with the Director of Administration and the Administrative Committee in the management of the Society.

7. To represent the United States in the General Anthroposophical Society by attending meetings of the General Secretaries and, when possible, other world events.

8. To speak and write on behalf of the Society. The General Secretary writes for the Newsletter, corresponds with members, and gives public lectures.

9. To raise funds on behalf of the Society in conjunction with the Director of Administration and a development committee.

9. To develop relations with associations serving the anthroposophic movement such as the Collegium, the Council of Anthroposophical Organizations, the Biodynamic Association, Waldorf organizations, and others. To develop relationships with selected organizations outside the anthroposophical movement.

It should also be noted that the General Secretary spends approximately six weeks a year traveling to, and participating in, meetings both in the United States and abroad. Also, much time is spent in telephone calls with various councils and with individual members. The following list of meetings gives some idea of the substantial amount of travel involved:

1. Meetings of the General Secretaries in Switzerland at least twice a year for about five days each, plus travel time.

2. General Council meetings three times a year of four to five days each. The Council also has conference calls twice a month.

3. Other meetings may include attendance at the meetings of the Collegium, the Council of Anthroposophical Organizations, various national meetings, and visits to groups and branches. Many possibilities exist.

Compensation: The General Secretary presently receives a small honorarium of $10,000 annually plus travel expenses.

Terms: A General Secretary will serve an initial four (4) year term. After the initial term, a General Secretary may, at the invitation of the General Council, serve up to two (2) additional three (3) year terms, for a total of ten (10) years. At that point a new nominating process will begin but a current General Secretary may be nominated and selected again.

Starting Date: The starting date for the term of General Secretary will be the 2007 Annual General Meeting.