Jochen Richert (30 March 1938 – 3 March 1997) 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 union leader. Born in

Melsungen Melsungen () is a small climatic spa town in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany. In 1987, the town hosted the 27th ''Hessentag'' state festival. Geography Melsungen lies on the river Fulda in the North Hesse Highlands. The strea ...

, Richert became a miner when he was sixteen, and joined the

Union of Mining and Energy The Union of Mining and Energy (, IGBE) was a trade union in West Germany which existed from 1946 until 1997. History In the early 20th-century, there were several miners' unions in Germany, the most important being the Union of Miners of Germany. ...

. He became increasingly involved in the union, until in 1960, he began working full-time for 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), as its youth secretary for

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

and

Bad Hersfeld The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld (''Bad'' is "spa" in German; the Old High German name of the city was ''Herolfisfeld'') is the district seat of the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southeast ...

. In 1964, he was promoted to become youth secretary for the whole of

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, then in 1971, he became chair of the DGB in Hesse. He also became chair of the DGB's education wing. In 1986, Richert was elected to the national board of the DGB, and in 1990, he additionally became president of the DGB's education wing. In 1991, he also became president of the

International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees The International Federation of Commercial, Clerical, Professional and Technical Employees (FIET; ) was a global union federation bringing together workers representing clerical workers. The union was sometimes known as the International Federat ...

. He retired in 1995, due to poor health, and died in 1997.

References

1938 births 1997 deaths German trade unionists People from Schwalm-Eder-Kreis {{trade-unionist-bio-stub