His father, Oskar Vetter, was for a long time a leading member of the Baptist congregations of Bochum-Werne and an early member of the Nsdap Have been.[1] Heinz Oskar Vetter moved from Christian youth to Christian youth in 1933 Young people NSDAP. In 1937 he brought it to the Young Tribe Leader.[2] Before the World War II Vetter worked first as a locksmith in the mining industry before he Abitur exam Graduated. During the war, he was Lieutenant at the Air force. After a short prisoner of war, he returned to his original profession in 1946.

After the visit of the trade union-affiliated Academy of Public Economy from 1949 to 1951 he was Trade union secretaries at the IG Mining and Energy. In 1960, he joined the board of his union, of which he became its second chairman in 1964.

Finally, in 1969, the DGB elected Vetter as chairman of its Federal Executive Board. From 1974 to 1979, he also held the office of President of the European Trade Union Confederation In Brussels. In 1979, the International Federation of Free Trade Unions, which is also based in Brussels, to his Vice-President. His successor as DGB chairman was Ernst Breit.

Heinz Oskar Vetter was Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the New Home and involved in their affair.

In addition to his work as a trade unionist, Heinz Oskar Vetter was also active as a politician for the SPD, of which he had been a member since 1953. In 1979, he was appointed to the Parliament where he was a member of the Socialist Group for ten years.

Vetter was also a member of the Trilateral Commission.