Michael Sommer (; 15 January 1952 – 30 June 2025) was a German

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

ist leader. He served for 12 years as the chairman of the

German Confederation of Trade Unions 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).

Early life and career

Born in Büderich, now part of

Meerbusch Meerbusch () is a town in Rhein-Kreis Neuss, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has been an incorporated town since 1970. Meerbusch is the municipality with the most income millionaires in North Rhine-Westphalia. Geography Meerbusch is a town i ...

, North Rhine-Westphalia, Sommer studied

political sciences Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

from 1971 to 1980. His diploma thesis was on the privatization of parcel services which had formerly been part of the state post service. He was a member of the German Post Trade Union, which became part of

ver.di (''Verdi'' (stylized as ''ver.di''; �vɛʁdiː; English: ''United Services Trade Union'') is a German trade union based in Berlin, Germany. It was established on 19 March 2001 as the result of a merger of five individual unions and is a m ...

in 2001, beginning in 1971. Sommer became a member of 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 ...

in 1981. After his final degree, Sommer worked for the trade union. He climbed the ladder in the trade union becoming chairman of ver.di on 18 March 2001. A year later, on 28 May 2002, he was elected chairman of the DGB. He served for twelve years, retiring in 2014. In 2010, he was also elected president of the

International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC; ; ; ) is the world's largest trade union federation. History The federation was formed on 1 November 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) a ...

(ITUC). Michael Sommer died on 30 June 2025 in Berlin.

Other activities

Aktion Deutschland Hilft Aktion Deutschland Hilft e.V. – Bündnis deutscher Hilfsorganisationen (ADH) (Campaign Germany helps association - alliance of German aid organisations) is a connection of German Aid agency, aid agencies for humanitarian aid, with the target of ...

(Germany's Relief Coalition), Member of the Board of Trustees *

Friedrich Ebert Foundation The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (''German: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: FES'') is a German political party foundation associated with, but independent from, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Established in 1925 as t ...

(FES), Deputy Chairman of the Board *

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

, Member of the Sustainability Council (from 2016) *

Volkswagen Foundation The Volkswagen Foundation (German: ''VolkswagenStiftung'') is the largest German private nonprofit organization involved in the promotion and support of academic research. It is not affiliated to the present company, the Volkswagen Group. It wa ...

, Member of the Board of Trustees (from 2009) * Schloss Neuhardenberg Foundation, chairman of the Board of TrusteesBoard of Trustees
Schloss Neuhardenberg Foundation. *

KfW The KfW, which together with its subsidiaries DEG, KfW IPEX-Bank and FuB forms the KfW Bankengruppe ("banking group"), is a German state-owned investment and development bank, based in Frankfurt. As of 2014, it is the world's largest national ...

, Member of the supervisory board (2003–2014)

References

External Links

* 1952 births 2025 deaths German trade unionists Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Berlin Leaders of the International Trade Union Confederation People from North Rhine-Westphalia {{Germany-activist-stub