Michael Sommer (born 15 January 1952) is a German

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

ist leader. He served for 12 years as the chairman of the

German Confederation of Trade Unions 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 peopl ...

(DGB).

Early life and career

Born in Büderich, now part of

Meerbusch Meerbusch () is a town in Rhein-Kreis Neuss, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has been an incorporated town since 1970. Meerbusch is the municipality with the most income millionaires in North Rhine-Westphalia. Geography Meerbusch is a town i ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

, Sommer studied political sciences at

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

from 1971 to 1980. He has been a member of the German Post Trade Union, which became part of

ver.di (''Verdi'' (stylized as ''ver.di''; �vɛʁdiː; German: ''United Services Trade Union'') is a German trade union based in Berlin, Germany. It was established on 19 March 2001 as the result of a merger of five individual unions and is a me ...

in 2001, since 1971. After his final degree, Sommer worked for the trade union. He climbed the ladder in the trade union becoming chairman of ver.di on 18 March 2001. A year later, on 28 May 2002, he was elected chairman of the DGB. He served for twelve years, retiring in 2014.

Other activities

* Aktion Deutschland Hilft (Germany's Relief Coalition), Member of the Board of Trustees * Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), Deputy Chairman of the Board *

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

, Member of the Sustainability Council (since 2016) * Volkswagen Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2009) * Schloss Neuhardenberg Foundation, chairman of the Board of Trustees * KfW, Member of the supervisory board (2003-2014)2003 Annual Report
KfW.

References

German trade unionists 1952 births Living people Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Berlin Leaders of the International Trade Union Confederation People from North Rhine-Westphalia {{Germany-activist-stub