Thomas Händel (born 27 August 1953) is a German politician and
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
from
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. He is a member of
The Left, part of the
European United Left–Nordic Green Left
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...
. He was appointed
Chair of the European Parliament Employment and Social Affairs Committee in July 2014.
[Profile]
European Parliament
Händel began training as an electrician at
Grundig
Grundig (; ) is a German consumer electronics manufacturer owned by the Turkish Arçelik A.Ş., the white goods (major appliance) manufacturer of Turkish conglomerate Koç Holding. The company made domestic appliances and personal-care produ ...
in
Fürth
Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the t ...
in 1970, which is also when he joined the
IG Metall
IG Metall (; IGM; German: ''Industriegewerkschaft Metall'', "Industrial Union of Metalworkers'") is the dominant metalworkers' union in Germany, making it the country's largest union as well as Europe's largest industrial union. Analysts of Ger ...
trade union.
He subsequently attended the academy of work at
Goethe University Frankfurt
Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...
, after which he advanced through IG Metall, becoming the managing director of the Fürth branch in 1987 and a member of the national advisory board in 1991.
[
In March 2004, along with ]Klaus Ernst
Klaus Ernst (born 1 November 1954 in Munich) is a left-wing German politician and was a leading member of the Labour and Social Justice Party and now The Left. The certified political economist has served as a member of The Left in the Bundest ...
, Anny Heike, Gerd Lobodda, Günther Schachner, Herbert Schui and Peter Vetter, Händel called for the creation of the Initiative Arbeit und soziale Gerechtigkeit, a group opposed to the neoliberal
Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...
policies of 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 ...
Government. By June the group had been expelled from the party and had merged with another organisation, Wahlalternative, to form Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative
Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative (german: Arbeit und soziale Gerechtigkeit – Die Wahlalternative, WASG) was a left-wing German political party founded in 2005 by activists disenchanted with the ruling Red-Green coaliti ...
, or the WASG. Händel was one of the party's four executive board members and acted as treasurer.[ After the merger of the WASG and the Party of Democratic Socialism to form the Left party in 2007, Händel became vice-chairman of the ]Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (german: Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung), named in recognition of Rosa Luxemburg, occasionally referred to as ''Rosa-Lux'', is a transnational alternative policy lobby group and educational institution, centered in Germa ...
. He was elected Elected may refer to:
* "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973
* ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008
*The Elected, an American indie rock band
See also
*Election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a populatio ...
to the European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
in 2009.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Handel, Thomas
1953 births
Living people
Politicians from Nuremberg
The Left (Germany) MEPs
MEPs for Germany 2009–2014
Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative politicians
German trade unionists
MEPs for Germany 2014–2019