Walter Behrendt
German politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Walter Behrendt (German pronunciation: [ˈvaltɐ ˈbeːʁɛnt]; 18 September 1914[1] – 23 July 1997[2]) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and president of the European Parliament (1971–1973).[3]
MdB Walter Behrendt | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Behrendt in 1972 | |
| Member of the Bundestag | |
| In office 1957–1976 | |
| Constituency | Dortmund III |
| Vice-President of the European Parliament | |
| In office 1969–1971 | |
| In office 1973–1977 | |
| 9th President of the European Parliament | |
| In office 16 March 1971 – 1973 | |
| Preceded by | Mario Scelba |
| Succeeded by | Cornelis Berkhouwer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 18, 1914 |
| Died | July 23, 1997 (aged 82) Dortmund, West Germany |
| Party | SPD (1932-1997) |
Career
Behrendt was trained as a merchant and accountant.[4] He took part in World War II and afterwards worked as clerk in an industrial firm. In 1954 he became a contributor to the company journal of Hoesch-Westfalenhütte AG in Dortmund.[5] Behrendt joined SPD in 1932 being a member of the Socialist Working Youth (Sozialistische Arbeiterjugend). From 1945 to 1947 he was chairman of the regional Socialist Youth for Dortmund, Lünen and Castrop-Rauxel. He was chairman of the SPD branch in Dortmund-Altenderne in 1951/52 and in Dortmund from 1952 to 1955.
From 1952 until his death, Behrendt was a municipal councillor in Dortmund. In 1957 he was elected member of the Bundestag (electoral constituency: Dortmund III) and remained in office until 1976.[6] Between 1961 and 1967 he was assistant chairman of the Labour Committee. Additionally, Behrendt was a member of the European Parliament from 1967 to 1977 where he served as vice-president (1969–71, 1973–77) and president (1971–73). He was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto in 1973.[7]
Behrendt was also a member of the supervisory board of Dortmunder Stadtwerke AG and Dortmunder Hafen und Eisenbahn AG.
