Hans Düby (30 January 1906 – 31 March 1978) was a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

trade unionist and politician. Born in

Schüpfen Schüpfen is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Schüpfen is first mentioned in 1208 as ''Scuphon''. Prehistoric traces of a settlement in the area include Mesolithic and Bron ...

, Düby was the son of Emil, who later became the leader of the Swiss Railwaymen's Association. Düby studied music in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

at the Conservatoire, but then in 1925 undertook an apprenticeship with the

Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...

. On completing the apprenticeship, he was taken on permanently as an administrative officer. In 1937, Düby joined the Swiss Railwaymen's Association (SEV), and in 1941 he became a branch secretary. From 1943, he began working full-time for the union as editor of its journal, ''Eisenbahner''. In 1954, he was elected as the SEV's general secretary, the leading role in the union. In 1960, his title was changed to president, but he remained the union's leader. He also became a vice-president of the

Swiss Federation of Trade Unions The Swiss Trade Union Federation (, SGB; ; , USS) is the largest national trade union center in Switzerland. History The federation was founded in 1880 and represents 361,000 members in its affiliated unions (2015). The SGB has close ties with ...

, and served on the executive of the

International Transport Workers' Federation The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a democratic global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2017 the ITF had 677 member organizations in 149 countries, representing a combined membership ...

(ITF). In 1965, he was elected as president of the ITF. Düby was also active in the Socialist Party of Switzerland. He was elected to Bern City Council in 1945, and to the

Grand Council of Bern The Grand Council (german: Grosser Rat, french: Grand conseil) is the parliament of the Swiss canton of Bern. It consists of 160 members (as of 2006) elected by proportional representation for a four-year term of office. The French-speaking part ...

the following year. In 1955, he was instead elected to the

Swiss Federal Assembly The Federal Assembly (german: Bundesversammlung, french: Assemblée fédérale, it, Assemblea federale, rm, Assamblea federala), also known as the Swiss parliament (''Parlament'', ''Parlement'', ''Parlamento''), is Switzerland's federal leg ...

, again representing Bern. Düby was elected to the Swiss Federal Railways' Board of Directors in 1963. He retired from his trade union posts in 1971, then stood down from the Federal Assembly in 1975. He died three years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Düby, Hans 1906 births 1978 deaths Members of the National Council (Switzerland) People from Bern-Mittelland District Social Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians Swiss trade unionists