Heinrich Gottlieb Imig (24 February 1893 – 24 February 1956) 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 ...

trade unionist and politician. Born 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 ...

, Imig worked as a coal miner from the age of 19. He joined the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

, and also the Alter Verband union. He served in the military during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, then returned to mining. In 1920, he was elected to the works committee of his mine, and from 1929 he was the full-time union official for

Bochum Bochum (, ; ; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 372,348 (April 2023), it is the sixth-largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German federa ...

and

Castrop-Rauxel Castrop-Rauxel (), often simply referred to as Castrop by locals, is a former coal mining city in the eastern part of the Ruhr Area within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Geography Castrop-Rauxel is located in Germany between Dort ...

. In 1933, the Nazis dissolved all trade unions, and Imig found himself unemployed. He set up his own business, then during

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 ...

was conscripted into the air raid police. After the war, he was immediately elected as town clerk of Castrop-Rauxel, and joined the new IG Bergbau union. He won election as its second president in 1949, and was also elected to the executive 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 ...

. In the

1949 West German federal election Federal elections were held in West Germany on 14 August 1949 to elect the members of the first Bundestag, with a further eight seats elected in West Berlin between 1949 and January 1952 and another eleven between February 1952 and 1953. They w ...

, Imig won election, and he also served in the general assembly of the

European Coal and Steel Community The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to integrate Europe's coal and steel industries into a single common market based on the principle of supranationalism which would be governe ...

. In 1953, the position of president of IG Bergbau became available and, although

Heinrich Gutermuth Heinrich Gutermuth (18 June 1898 – 28 June 1977) was a German trade union leader. Born in Ilbeshausen (near Grebenhain), Gutermuth completed an apprenticeship as a blacksmith, then served in World War I. After the war, he found work as a m ...

won, he immediately stood down in favour of Imig. The following year, Imig was also 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 Wirtz (1962) documented that the Miners International Federation (MIF) 'had its origin i ...

. He died, still in post, in 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Imig, Heinrich 1893 births 1956 deaths German trade unionists Members of the Bundestag for North Rhine-Westphalia Politicians from Essen Members of the Bundestag for the Social Democratic Party of Germany