August Brey (1 August 1864 – 28 July 1937) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

politician and trade unionist. Born in

Gelnhausen Gelnhausen () is a town, and the capital of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approximately 40 kilometers east of Frankfurt am Main, between the Vogelsberg mountains and the Spessart range at the river Kinzig (Main), Kinzig. ...

in the

Electorate of Hesse The Electorate of Hesse (), also known as Hesse-Kassel or Kurhessen, was the title used for the former Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel after an 1803 reform where the Holy Roman Emperor elevated its ruler to the rank of Elector, thus giving him ...

, Brey completed an apprenticeship as a shoemaker, and joined the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

(SPD) in 1885. In 1890, he was a leading founder of the Union of Factory, Agricultural and Commercial Support Workers in Germany (FAV), a

general union A general union is a trade union (called ''labor union'' in American English) which represents workers from all industries and companies, rather than just one organisation or a particular sector, as in a craft union or industrial union. A gen ...

, and became its president. From 1892, he was also the editor of the union's newspaper, ''Der Proletariat''. In 1906, he led the reform of the FAV as an industrial union, renamed as the

Factory Workers' Union of Germany The Factory Workers' Union of Germany (, VFD, commonly known as , FAV) was a trade union in Germany. History The union was founded in early July 1890, as a general union affiliated to the General Commission of German Trade Unions, gathering unsk ...

."Brey, August", ''Hannoversches Biographisches Lexikon'', p.72 In 1906, Brey was elected as the chair of the SPD organisation in

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, and he was also elected to represent the party in the Reichstag. He served until it was replaced by the

Weimar National Assembly The Weimar National Assembly (German: ), officially the German National Constitutional Assembly (), was the popularly elected constitutional convention and de facto parliament of Germany from 6 February 1919 to 21 May 1920. As part of it ...

, and then in the Reichstag again. From 1919, he also served in the Prussian State Assembly. In 1925, he was elected as president of the International Federation of General Factory Workers. In 1931, Brey retired as president of the FAV, and he left his political roles in 1932.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brey, August 1864 births 1937 deaths People from Gelnhausen People from the Electorate of Hesse German Protestants Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Members of the 12th Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the 13th Reichstag of the German Empire Members of the Weimar National Assembly Members of the Reichstag 1920–1924 Members of the Reichstag 1924 Members of the Reichstag 1924–1928 Members of the Reichstag 1928–1930 Members of the Reichstag 1930–1932 Members of the Landtag of Prussia German trade union leaders