At their annual general assembly, the members of Terre des Hommes elected Udo Hentrich as the new chairman of the Presidential Board . The 66-year-old political scientist, who holds a doctorate, has been a member of the Presidential Board and its child protection officer since 2024. As the long-time deputy chairman of the Workers' Welfare Association (AWO) in the Ruhr region, Hentrich has extensive experience working with non-governmental organizations; previously, he was a teacher at a vocational college in the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district.
“In my professional life, I have worked almost exclusively with disadvantaged children and young people, and I am very happy to be involved with Terre des Hommes , a social organization that advocates for children’s rights,” Udo Hentrich explained in his acceptance speech. “It is high time that children’s rights not only exist as a United Nations convention, but are made known to a wider public and implemented. As Chairman of the Presidential Board , I will contribute to giving children a voice and encouraging them to stand up for their rights with the support of Terre des Hommes .”
The seven-member Presidential Board a volunteer body, functions as a supervisory board. It decides on the strategic direction and business policy of Terre des Hommes and oversees the work of the full-time Executive Board. Udo Hentrich succeeds Regina Hewer as Chair, who reached the term limit after ten years of service on the Presidential Board . Christoph Dallmayr (Munich) is Vice Chair of the Presidential Board , and Bilal Hasaf (Herford), Servet Karakoyun (Heidelberg), Shanti Normann (Montabaur), Philipp Sammer (Berlin), and Moska Sediqi (Herford) serve as members of the Presidential Board .