Photo, 1996
Haluk Köker was born on October 19, 1961, in the Turkish border town of Edirne. In 1965, his father went to Germany as a “guest worker,” and a year later, his mother followed. Haluk Köker and his older brother stayed with their grandmother. In September 1969, they brought the family over. For three days and three nights, the grandmother traveled with the three little boys until they arrived in Aalen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Since the parents were not waiting at the platform as hoped, the driver of a street cleaner quickly took them to their new home. At school, eight-year-old Haluk quickly made new friends and learned the German language. In 1975, he began an apprenticeship at the Westfalen coal mine. He became active in the works council and participated in various committees and in the IG Mining and Energy union. The employees of the Westfalen mine went on strike, including Haluk Köker. He can be seen in the front right of the first row, wearing a yellow helmet and black pants. When the closure of the Westfalen mine was imminent, he switched to public service in 1997. To this day, Haluk Köker works at the Knappschaft in Hamm and is the chairman of the Migration Committee at the Mining, Chemical, and Energy Industrial Union for the Westfalen regional district.
