Adolf Schmidt (18 April 1925 – 26 November 2013) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

trade union leader and politician. Born in , Homberg, Schmidt became a mechanic at a coal mine, then in 1942 was drafted into the navy as a submarine mechanic. He was taken as a prisoner of war and released at the end of the war, returning to the pit. In 1947, he joined the Union of Mining and Energy (IG BE), and immediately won election to the works council at the mine. In 1949, he joined 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 ...

(SPD), and the following year he studied in Frankfurt. In 1951, Schmidt began working full-time for IG BE, as its

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

youth secretary, then he successively ran the union's offices in

Breisgau The Breisgau () is an area in southwest Germany between the Rhine River and the foothills of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, ...

and Gießen, before in 1965 he became head of the union's Hesse-Rhineland-Palatinate district, and also won election to its executive. In 1969, Schmidt was elected as the president of IG BE, on a platform of improving working conditions in coal mines, and preserving jobs in coal mining and at nuclear power stations. In 1971, he was additionally elected as president of the

Miners' International Federation The Miners' International Federation (MIF), sometimes known as the International Federation of Miners, was a global union federation of trade unions. History The federation was established in 1890 at a meeting in Brussels by unions from Austria, ...

, and in 1972 he was elected as an SPD member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

. Schmidt stood down from his international post in 1984, as president of the IG BE in 1985, and from the Bundestag in 1987.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Adolf 1925 births 2013 deaths Kriegsmarine personnel of World War II German trade unionists Members of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party of Germany German prisoners of war in World War II Works councillors