LDS General Authority from France named as presiding bishop
SALT LAKE CITY — The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Friday, Oct. 9, that Bishop Gérald Caussé has been named as the new presiding bishop, with Dean M. Davies as first counselor and W. Christopher Waddell as second counselor in the Presiding Bishopric.
The new assignments are effective immediately, but there will be a transition period, according to Mormon Newsroom.
Caussé, 52, is from France and fills the vacancy created by Elder Gary E. Stevenson, who became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on October 3. Caussé served as the first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric since March 2012 prior to his new assignment, according to Mormon Newsroom. Davies served as second counselor to Stevenson and Waddell was a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of the Church.
Caussé previously served as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy and as a counselor in the Europe Area Presidency. He is the third presiding bishop born outside the United States and the first for whom English is a second language.
Bishop Caussé received a master’s degree in business from France’s ESSEC Business School in 1987. His career has been in the food industry, where he worked with several supermarket chains and food distribution companies. He was the general manager of Pomona, a food distribution company in France. He worked as the director of logistics for the Carrefour group, an international grocery retail firm.
He was born in Bordeaux, France, May 20, 1963. He married Valérie Lucienne Babin in August 2, 1986. They are the parents of five children and have five grandchildren.
