Rainer Leopold Wimmer (10 August 1955 – 24 June 2025) was an Austrian trade unionist, politician and a member of the National Council. 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 ...

, he represented Upper Austria from December 1993 to November 1994,

Traunviertel The Traunviertel is an Austrian region belonging to the state of Upper Austria. It is one of four "quarters" of Upper Austria and its name refers to the river Traun which passes through the area. Region The district includes the Linz-Land, St ...

from November 1994 to October 2008 and the Federal List from October 2013 to November 2017 and from October 2018 to October 2024. Wimmer was born on 10 August 1955 in

Hallstatt Hallstatt () is a small town in the district of Gmunden District, Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Sa ...

. He trained to be an

electrician An electrician is a tradesman, tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the ...

at a

vocational school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...

from 1970 to 1974. He worked as an electrician for the

salt mining Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite Formation (geology), formations. History Before the advent of the moder ...

company Salinen Austria from 1970 to 1983. He was chairman of the

works council A works council is a shop-floor organization representing workers that functions as a local/firm-level complement to trade unions but is independent of these at least in some countries. Works councils exist with different names in a variety of re ...

at Salinen Austria in 1983 and chairman of its central works council from 1984 to 2010. He was appointed to the board of the

Union of Agriculture, Food and Allied Industries The Union of Agriculture, Food and Allied Industries (, ANG) was a trade union representing workers in agriculture, food processing and other related industries, in Austria. The union was founded in 1991, when the Union of Agricultural and Forestr ...

(ANG) in 1984 and served as its chairman from 2004 to 2006. He was deputy federal chairman of the

Metal-Textile-Food Union The Metal-Textile-Food Union (, GMTN) was a trade union representing workers in manufacturing, mining, and agriculture in Austria. The union was founded on 10 May 2006, when the Metal-Textile Union merged with the Union of Agriculture, Food and ...

(GMTN) from 2006 to 2008. He was a member of the Federal Executive Board of the

Austrian Trade Union Federation The Austrian Trade Union Federation or Austrian Federation of Trade Unions ( de: ''Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund'', abbreviated OeGB or ÖGB) is a labour union of employees. It is constituted as an association and is subdivided into seven ...

(ÖGB) from 2003 to 2023 and a member of its board from 2009 to 2023. He was federal chairman of the

PRO-GE PRO-GE is a trade union representing production workers in manufacturing, agriculture and mining, in Austria. The union was founded in November 2009, when the Chemical Workers' Union (GdC) merged with the Metal-Textile-Food Union (GMTN). On forma ...

trade union from 2009 to 2023 and chairman of Social Democratic Trade Unionists (FSG) in the ÖGB from 2018 to 2023. Wimmer was a member of the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

in Hallstatt from 1985 and served as its mayor from April 1988 to 1993. He was appointed to the National Council in December 1993 following the resignation of Karl Neuwirth. He was not re-elected at the 2008 legislative election but was returned to the National Council at the 2013 legislative election. He was not re-elected at the 2017 legislative election but in October 2018 he was appointed to the National Council following the resignation of

Wolfgang Katzian Wolfgang Katzian (born October 28, 1956, in Stockerau, Austria) is an Austrian politician and president of the Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) since June 14, 2018, and president of European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) since May 26, 20 ...

. Wimmer was married and had three children. On 24 June 2025, Wimmer died at the age of 69.Gewerkschaft PRO-GE trauert um Rainer Wimmer

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