Jochen Richert (30 March 1938 – 3 March 1997) was a German trade union leader. Born in

Melsungen Melsungen () is a small climatic spa town in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany. In 1987, the town hosted the 27th ''Hessentag'' state festival. Geography Melsungen lies on the river Fulda in the North Hesse Highlands. The str ...

, Richert became a miner when he was sixteen, and 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 ...

. He became increasingly involved in the union, until in 1960, he began working full-time for 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 ...

(DGB), as its youth secretary for Fulda and

Bad Hersfeld The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld (''Bad'' is "spa" in German; the Old High German name of the city was ''Herolfisfeld'') is the district seat of the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southe ...

. In 1964, he was promoted to become youth secretary for the whole of

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

, then in 1971, he became chair of the DGB in Hesse. He also became chair of the DGB's education wing. In 1986, Richert was elected to the national board of the DGB, and in 1990, he additionally became president of the DGB's education wing. In 1991, he also became president of the

International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees The International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees (FIET; french: Fédération internationale des employés, techniciens et cadres) was a global union federation bringing together workers representing cleri ...

. He retired in 1995, due to poor health, and died in 1997.

References

1938 births 1997 deaths German trade unionists People from Schwalm-Eder-Kreis {{trade-unionist-bio-stub