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A new general authority for the LDS Church is also a longtime lobbyist for oil, mining companies

One of eight newly appointed full-time leaders for the LDS Church has a background in working for extractive industries and is currently the president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute.

According to a biography released by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Jack N. Gerard, 60, was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on March 31.

The biography also states that Gerard, originally from Idaho Falls, has worked as CEO of several companies, including McClure, Gerard & Neuenschwander, a DC-based consulting firm that specializes in telecommunications, energy and mining, as well as the National Mining Association, America Chemistry Council and, most recently, the American Petroleum Institute.