General German Workers' Association

The General German Workers' Association (German: Allgemeiner Deutscher Arbeiter-Verein, ADAV) was a German political party initiated on 23 May 1863 in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony by Ferdinand Lassalle. The organization existed by this name until 1875, when it combined with a rival organization to form the Socialist Workers' Party of Germany. This unified organization was renamed soon thereafter the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), which presently remains in existence and dates its origins to the founding of the ADAV.

The ADAV was the first German Labour Party, formed in Prussia prior to the establishment of the German Empire. Its members were known colloquially throughout Germany as Lassalleans.

The General German Workers' Association (ADAV) was founded in Leipzig by Ferdinand Lassalle and twelve delegates from some of the most important cities in Germany: Barmen, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Elberfeld, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg, Harburg, Cologne, Leipzig, Mainz and Solingen.

The ADAV sought to advance the interests of the working class and to work for the establishment of socialism by the use of electoral politics. Lassalle acted as president from 23 May 1863 until his death in a duel on 31 August 1864.

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