Peter Wichtel

Heinz Peter Wichtel (born January 5, 1949, Büdingen, Germany) is a German politician (CDU) and trade unionist.

Wichtel was a member of the German Bundestag from 2009 to 2017. In the 18th legislative period, he was a full member of the Committee on Transport and Digital Infrastructure, as well as a deputy member of the Sports Committee. Wichtel has been a member of ver.di trade union (formerly ÖTV) since 1974.

Biography Wichtel attended compulsory school in Büdingen and Offenbach am Main. After training as a retail salesman, he initially worked in wholesale and retail between 1966 and 1970. In 1971, he started working in the personnel social service department at Fraport AG. In 1975, he became a member of the Works Council and its Chairman from 2002 to 2010. From 2004 to 2012, he was also a member of the supervisory board and Chairman of the Personnel Committee.

In 2008, Wichtel was awarded the Social Market Economy Prize of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, which honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the spirit of the social market economy. In its statement of reasons, the jury said that Wichtel had played a key role in shaping working conditions at Fraport AG in the interests of employees, always keeping the welfare of the company and the Frankfurt site in mind. He represented a trade union image that helped to overcome the apparent contradictions between employee and capital interests.

Political career Wichtel has been a member of the Christian Democratic Employees' Association (CDA) since 1972 and was deputy chairman of the Hesse state association from 1991 to 2010. In the election to the 18th German Bundestag in 2013, he again won the direct mandate in the Offenbach constituency and increased his result to 45.5% of the first votes. Since then, Wichtel has been a member of the Committee for Transport and Digital Infrastructure as well as a deputy member of the Sports Committee for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. He did not run again for a mandate in the 2017 Bundestag election.