Günter Stephan (3 March 1922 – 11 April 2012) was a German trade union leader. Born in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Stephan completed an apprenticeship as a bookseller. He was imprisoned for part of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, then after the war, began working for the government in

Neuwied Neuwied (, ) is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the Neuwied (district), District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt ...

. He joined the

Trade, Banking and Insurance Union The Trade, Banking and Insurance Union (, HBV) was a trade union representing workers in commerce and finance in Germany. During 1947 and 1948, German trade unionists were regrouping and the majority decided to establish the German Trade Union Co ...

(HBV), and in 1952 became its district secretary in

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

. The following year, he became the union's state chair and also district chair of the

German Trade Union Confederation The German Trade Union Confederation (; 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 (31 December 2011). It was founded ...

(DGB) in Neuwied. In 1958, he moved to become chair of the DGB in

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

, then in 1961, he was elected as vice president of the HBV. From 1962, Stephan served full-time on the DGB's federal executive board, with responsibility initially for organisation and youth, and from 1969, for salaried workers, advertising and the media. In 1976, Stephan was elected as president of the International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees. He retired from the DGB in 1982, and the following year, from the international federation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephan, Gunter 1922 births 2012 deaths German trade unionists People from Cologne