Katarina Barley elected President of the Workers' Samaritan Association

13.09.2022 12:27

Katarina Barley has been appointed president by the federal committee of the Arbeiter-Samaritan-Bund (ASB). The lawyer and member of the European Parliament was unanimously elected by the delegates to the Federal Committee.

Barley succeeds Franz Müntefering, who headed the aid and welfare organization from 2013 to 2021. As president, Barley will represent the ASB in national and international leading organizations.

“I consider it a great honor to take on this important task on a voluntary basis,” said Katarina Barley. “The Workers’ Samaritan Association has been doing important work for our society since 1888. Whether in the flood disaster last year or currently in Ukraine, the ASB helps. First aid courses, geriatric care, emergency services, social work and disaster control are also part of the area of operation of the helpers in the yellow and red colors. I am extremely pleased to be able to represent this traditional organization and do my part.”

ASB Federal Chairman Knut Fleckenstein congratulated Katarina Barley on her appointment and said: “I am very pleased that we were able to gain Katarina Barley, an outstanding personality, as President of the ASB. With her extensive experience in federal and European politics, she will give the ASB a powerful voice.”

Katarina Barley was Federal Minister for Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth from June 2017 to March 2018. After the 2017 election, she also served as acting labor and social affairs minister. From March 2018 to June 2019 she was Federal Minister for Justice and Consumer Protection. She has been a member of the European Parliament since the European elections on May 26, 2019 and was elected Vice President of the European Parliament in July 2019.

The ASB Federal Committee includes the federal board, the chairmen of the ASB state associations and other delegates. Between the federal conferences, which take place every four years, the Federal Committee acts as the general meeting and decides on fundamental questions.