Hans Düby (30 January 1906 – 31 March 1978) was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

trade unionist and politician. Born in

Schüpfen Schüpfen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Seeland (administrative district), Seeland administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. History Schüpfen is first mentioned ...

, Düby was the son of Emil, who later became the leader of the Swiss Railwaymen's Association. Düby studied music in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

at the Conservatoire, but then in 1925 undertook an apprenticeship with the

Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (, SBB; , CFF; , FFS) is the national railway company of Switzerland. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Bern. It used to be a State-owned enterprise, government institution, but since 1999 it has be ...

. On completing the apprenticeship, he was taken on permanently as an administrative officer. In 1937, Düby joined the Swiss Railwaymen's Association (SEV), and in 1941 he became a branch secretary. From 1943, he began working full-time for the union as editor of its journal, ''Eisenbahner''. In 1954, he was elected as the SEV's general secretary, the leading role in the union. In 1960, his title was changed to president, but he remained the union's leader. He also became a vice-president of the

Swiss Federation of Trade Unions The Swiss Trade Union Federation (, SGB; ; , USS) is the largest national trade union center in Switzerland. History The federation was founded in 1880. The SGB has close ties with the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SPS). Ruth Dreifuss, ...

, and served on the executive of the

International Transport Workers' Federation The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a democratic global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2017 the ITF had 677 member organizations in 149 countries, representing a combined membership o ...

(ITF). In 1965, he was elected as president of the ITF. Düby was also active in the Socialist Party of Switzerland. He was elected to Bern City Council in 1945, and to the

Grand Council of Bern The Grand Council (, ) is the parliament of the Swiss canton of Bern. It consists of 160 members (as of 2006) elected by proportional representation for a four-year term of office. The French-speaking part of the canton, the Bernese Jura (distric ...

the following year. In 1955, he was instead elected to the

Swiss Federal Assembly The Federal Assembly, also known as the Swiss Parliament, is the federal bicameral parliament of Switzerland. It comprises the 200-seat National Council and the 46-seat Council of States. It meets in Bern in the Federal Palace. The house ...

, again representing Bern. Düby was elected to the Swiss Federal Railways' Board of Directors in 1963. He retired from his trade union posts in 1971, then stood down from the Federal Assembly in 1975. He died three years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Düby, Hans 1906 births 1978 deaths Members of the National Council (Switzerland) People from Bern-Mittelland District Social Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians Swiss trade unionists