Woog, Edgar

Born Apr. 24, 1898, in Liestal. Important figure in the Swiss and international workers’ movement. Librarian by profession.

In 1916, Woog joined the Swiss socialist youth organization. In 1919 he went to Mexico and took part in the founding of the Mexican Communist Party (1919). He was a delegate to the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Congresses of the Communist International, and he was a member of the Executive Committee of the Communist International (1922-24) and of its International Control Commission (1924-28). From 1928 to 1935 he worked in the apparatus of the Executive Committee of the Communist International. Woog returned to his native land in 1935 and joined the Communist Party of Switzerland. In 1944 he took part in the founding of the Swiss Labor Party, and from 1944 he was a member of its Central Committee and the directing committee of the Central Committee. During 1946-49 he was vice-chairman of the Swiss Labor Party, and from 1949 to November 1968 he was the party’s general secretary. He served as a parliamentary deputy from 1947 to 1955. Woog became chairman of the Central Control Commission of the Swiss Labor Party in November 1968.