Born in Emmerich, van Haaren attended the Dortmund Social Academy, then began working for the Deutsche Bundespost, delivering mail.
In 1968, he became a financial secretary for the union in Frankfurt, and was also elected to the DPG's executive committee.
[1][2] In 1982, van Haaren was elected as president of the DPG, without facing an opponent.
He then retired, and dedicated his time to the German-Polish Society in Bremen.
You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.This biographical article about a trade unionist is a stub.