Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen | |
 |
|
| Born | May 3, 1818 Hamm (Sieg), Germany |
|---|---|
| Died | March 11, 1888 Neuwied, Germany |
Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen (May 3, 1818, Hamm (Sieg) - March 11, 1888, Heddesdorf, currently known as Neuwied, Germany) was a German cooperative leader.
Contents |
[edit] Life
He was mayor of several towns: from 1845 he was mayor of Weyerbusch/Westerwald; from 1848 he was mayor of Flammersfeld/Westerwald; and finally he was mayor of Heddesdorf from 1852 until 1865.
[edit] Works
Raiffeisen conceived of the idea of cooperative self-help during his tenure as the young mayor of Flammersfeld. He was inspired by observing the suffering of the farmers who were often in the grip of loansharks. He founded the first cooperative lending bank, in effect the first rural credit union in 1864.
