President and Board
The President
Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa, President of the German Caritas AssociationMonika Keiler
Eva M. Welskop-Deffaa was elected President of the German Caritas Association in October 2021. In the association’s 125-year history, she is the first woman in this position. Welskop-Deffaa was born in Duisburg in 1959. She studied economics in Munich and history in Florence. Before joinig Caritas in 2017 as member of the Board in charge of social policy, Welskop-Deffaa worked among other things in Catholic institutions (Catholic Women’s Association, Central Committee of German Catholics), for the government (Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth) and was member of the board at German trade union ver.di. Welskop-Deffaa is married and has three adult children.
‘To me, Caritas stands for the power of innovation, promotion of societal cohesion and the ability to prepare for future tasks. I wish that these ideas also inspire other people when seeing the Caritas symbol cross of flames.’
The Board
The Board of the German Caritas Association currently consists of the President and the Secretary General who also is the Head of Finances, Personell and Corporate Issues and International Responsibility.
Hans Jörg Millies
Hans Jörg MilliesDCV / Anke Jacob
was elected the Financial Director and Personnel Manager by the Caritas Council in 2012 and the Secretary General in 2017. He was born in 1963 in Meschede.
'Social-economic enterprises render valuable services. In doing so, they are subject to high requirements in terms of quality and economic performance; often, they are confronted with different expectations and needs with respect to benefit recipients and act within heavily regulated markets. My task, among others, is to strengthen the social enterprises of Caritas in the context of the growing competition in terms of demand, human resources and finances. By closely collaborating with the other areas within the Board and in cooperation with the central specialised organisations, I want to contribute to making Caritas institutions and services able to meet the requirements they face sustainably and to the satisfaction of their users.'
