Heinz-Werner Meyer (24 August 1932 – 9 May 1994) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

trade union leader and politician. Born in the Harburg area of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Meyer became a coal miner, while attending night school. He joined the

Union of Mining and Energy The Union of Mining and Energy (german: IG Bergbau und Energie, IGBE) was a trade union in West Germany which existed from 1946 until 1997. History In the early 20th-century, there were several miners' unions in Germany, the most important being th ...

(IG BE), and also the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

(SPD). From 1955, he studied economics at the Academy of Economics and Politics, then in 1957 he became the IG BE's full-time youth secretary. Meyer's rise in the union continued, as in 1964 he was appointed as head of its organisation department, and in 1969 he won election to its executive. From 1975 to 1985, he also served in the

Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia The Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia is the state parliament (''Landtag'') of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which convenes in the state capital of Düsseldorf, in the eastern part of the district of Hafen. The parliament i ...

. In 1984 he became vice president of IG BE, and then in 1985 the president of the union. In 1987, he was elected to serve in the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

, standing down in 1990, when he was elected as president of the

German Trade Union Confederation The German Trade Union Confederation (german: Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund; DGB) is an umbrella organisation (sometimes known as a national trade union center) for eight German trade unions, in total representing more than 6 million people ...

. He remained in post until his death, in 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Heinz-Werner 1932 births 1994 deaths Members of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia People from Harburg, Hamburg Politicians from Hamburg Members of the Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party of Germany Presidents of the German Trade Union Confederation