* 31 January 1919 in Cologne, Germany + 18 July 1996
Hans Katzer was born in Cologne in 1919. There he attended highschool, before undergoing a business apprenticeship in the textile industry. He passed his examination as a business clerk at the technical college in Mönchen-Gladbach. After he had finished the NS labour - and military service he was employed at the Cologne labour exchange until 1949. In 1950 he became the principal executive of the social committees of the Christian Democratic Party (CDU). In 1945 he had been one of the founding fathers of that party. From 1969 to 1981 he was deputy chairman of the CDU. From 1963 to 1977 he was chairman of the social committees of the Christian Democratic Employees (CDA). Even after he had given up his chairmanship in May 1977 he remained executive chairman of the Jakob Kaiser foundation and was elected first president of the European union of Christian Democratic Employees in Brussels in the same year. After the federal election of 1980 Hans Katzer retired from active political business. He remained, however, Vice President of the European Parliament until 1982.
Public offices held:
1950-1957 city councillor in Cologne, 1957-1980 MP, 1969-1980 deputy party whip of the parliamentary party of the CDU/CSU, 1961-1965 Chairman of the committee for the federal economic property , 1965-1969 Labor Secretary, 1979-1984 Member of the European Parliament, 1979-1982 Vice President of the European Parliament.