Josef Peter (politician)

Josef Gebhard Peter (born January 9, 1889 in Hohenems ; † August 6, 1959 in Bregenz ) was an Austrian politician ( SDAP ) and railway official. He was a member of the Vorarlberg state parliament from 1920 to 1923 and from 1930 to 1932 .

education and profession

Peter attended elementary school in Hohenems and completed an apprenticeship as an electrician and embroidery machine fitter. He did his military service between 1911 and 1913 and was drafted for military service after the outbreak of World War I in 1914, where he was deployed until 1917. From 1922 to 1938 he worked as a secretary for the tenants' association in Vorarlberg and between 1939 and 1943 he was head of the housing department. He then worked as an employee and later as head of the economic office in Bregenz until its dissolution in 1951.

Politics and functions

Peter was a member of the Social Democratic Party and was active within the party as a member of the state party representation and chairman of party control. He was also the founder and chairman of the Hohenems local organization and chairman of the city and district organization in Bregenz. He was sworn in on May 8, 1920 as a member of the Feldkirch constituency or successor to Franz Josef Riedmann in the Vorarlberg state parliament and was a member of the state parliament until November 5, 1923, where he was a member of the road and hydraulic engineering committee and the subsidy committee. He was also active in local politics until 1922 as a member of the Hohenems community council and was then a member of the Bregenz community committee from 1924 to 1929 and of the Bregenz city council from 1929 to 1933. He was sworn in again on December 23, 1930, this time as the successor to Hermann Hermann or as a member of the Bregenz constituency, in the Vorarlberg state parliament, of which he was a member until November 21, 1932. In 1934 he was arrested for political reasons. After the Second World War, Peter was the first deputy mayor of Bregenz from 1945 to 1947 and was then second deputy mayor from 1947 to 1950. He was then again a member of the city council from 1950 to 1953. He also got involved as a member of sports and cultural organizations in the Bregenz district of the SPÖ.

Peter was also President of the Socialist Lake Constance International , Vorarlberg Tenants' Association, founder of the Bregenz Workers' Home Association, founder of the Bregenz Workers' String Orchestra and member of the supervisory board of Neue Heimat.

Private

Josef Peter was the son of the farm worker Sebastian Peter (1837–1913) and his wife Karolina Witzemann (1849–1897). He married Maria Blum, born in Höchst , on October 16, 1922 in Bregenz and between 1923 and 1932 he had two sons and a daughter. His son, Walter Peter , was also a politician.

Awards

• Karl Troop Cross (First World War)
• Winner of the golden party badge of the SPÖ
• Viktor Adler badge

Web links

• Biography of Josef Peter (PDF; 96 kB) in the parliamentary documents of the Vorarlberg state parliament.