Meet the New Africa West Area Presidency

S. Gifford Nielsen, President

S. Gifford Nielsen was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 2013.

S. Gifford Nielsen was born in Provo, Utah, on October 25, 1954. He married Wendy Olson in April 1975. They are the parents of six children.

He received a bachelor’s degree in 1977 from Brigham Young University and was named one of the top five scholar athletes by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

He has served in numerous Church callings, including elders quorum president, Young Men president, bishop, stake president, and Area Seventy.

At the time of his call, Elder S. Gifford Nielsen had been serving as a member of the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy in the North America Southwest Area. Elder Nielsen has served as an Assistant Executive Director in the Missionary Department and in the Pacific, North America Northeast, and North America Central Area Presidencies. He is currently serving as the President of the North America Central Area.

After becoming an All-American quarterback at BYU, the Houston Oilers selected him in the third round of the 1978 NFL draft. Following a six-year career as quarterback for the Oilers, he worked as the sports director and anchor for KHOU-TV in Houston for 25 years. In 1994 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Jörg Klebingat, First Counselor

Jörg Klebingat was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 5, 2014.

Jörg Klebingat was born in Zweibrücken, Germany, on December 19, 1967. He married Julia Poltorak in August 1991. They are the parents of three children.

He received both a Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian and a master’s degree in organizational behavior from Brigham Young University.

Since joining the Church in 1985, he has served in numerous Church callings, including as a full-time missionary in the Colorado Denver Mission, Young Men president, elders quorum president, high councilor, bishop, and mission president.

At the time of his call, Elder Jörg Klebingat was serving as president of the Ukraine Kyiv Mission. He served as a member of the Europe East Area Presidency from August 2014 to August 2016 and at Church headquarters as an assistant executive director in the Temple Department and as an area assistant in the North America Northwest and North America West Areas. He is currently serving as Second Counselor in the Africa West Area Presidency.

He began his career working for several consulting companies. Prior to his call as mission president, he worked for many years with the Church in positions such as Kyiv, Ukraine service center manager, Europe East Area director for temporal affairs, and Europe Area distribution supervisor.

Alfred Kyungu, Second Counselor

Alfred Kyungu was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 3, 2021, at age 54.

Alfred Kyungu Kibamba was born in Kamina, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on October 31, 1966. He married Lucie Kabulo Malale in 1998. They are the parents of three children.

Elder Kyungu received a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Sciences and International Relations from the University of Lubumbashi in 1993. In 1996, he received a Master of Science degree in Social Sciences and International Relations from the University of Lubumbashi.

Elder Kyungu has served in a number of Church callings, including stake Sunday School president, district executive secretary, institute teacher, ward Sunday School teacher, counselor in a bishopric, high councilor, counselor in a stake presidency, and president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mbuji-Mayi Mission from 2016 to 2019.

At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Third Quorum of the Seventy in the Africa Central Area. He served as a member of the Third Quorum of the Seventy in the Africa Southeast Area from 2011 to 2016. He is currently serving at Church headquarters as an area assistant to the North America Central Area and as an Assistant Executive Director in the Temple Department.

He has worked in several positions for the Democratic Republic of the Congo government, including youth coordinator, private secretary, and administrative councilor. Prior to his call as a mission president, he worked for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as coordinator and regional director for seminaries and institutes. At the time of his call as a General Authority Seventy, he had been working for the Church as a family history manager.