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Austrian industrialist (1896–1974) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hans Lauda (25 March 1896 – 21 January 1974)[1] was an Austrian industrialist who co-founded the Federation of Austrian Industries and served as president from 1946 to 1960. He was the paternal grandfather of Formula One World Champion Niki Lauda.
Hans Lauda | |
|---|---|
Lauda in 1954 | |
| Born | 25 March 1896 |
| Died | 21 January 1974 (aged 77) Vienna, Austria |
| Nationality | Austrian |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Industrialist |
| Years active | 1923–1960 |
| Known for | President of Federation of Austrian Industries |
| Father | Ernst Lauda |
Hans Lauda was born on 25 March 1896 in Vienna.[1] His father Ernst Lauda worked in hydraulic engineering and bridge construction.[2] Lauda studied at the Theresianum,[1] and the University of Vienna, where he earned a doctorate in law.[1][3] He was known as "Old Lauda".[3] He was interested in Formula One, and drove to the Nürburgring and to Monaco to watch Formula One races.[3]
During the First World War, Lauda served in the Austrian artillery.[1] After the war, he worked for Veitscher as a commercial secretary, between 1923 and 1925.[3] He then worked for Österreichisch-Amerikanischen Magnesit AG.[1][3] In 1937, he became the general manager of Veitscher.[3][4] After the Anschluss, Lauda was removed from his position in the company.[3][4] After the Second World War, Lauda was reinstated as general manager of Veitscher,[3][4] and Lauda built a papermaking empire there.[5]
In 1946, Lauda co-founded the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV), and was president of the organisation until 1960.[3][6] In 1949, he was cited in a New York Times report on the progress of the Marshall Plan. He reported that Austria would employ 20,000 former government officials.[7] He served as chairman of the Association of Industrialists,[8][9] and in 1951, he proposed a successful bill to freeze wages, to try and counteract inflation in the country.[9] In this role, Lauda was sceptical of the European Free Trade Association, of which Austria was one of the seven founding members. Lauda saw EFTA as an interim measure.[10] Lauda was also a president of the Austrian Red Cross,[3] from 1956 to 1974.[6]
Hans Lauda was the paternal grandfather of Formula One World Champion Niki Lauda.[3] Aged 10, Niki accused Hans of "double standards" after he accepted a medal of honour from socialist mayor of Vienna Felix Slavik, someone that Hans was not fond of.[11] Hans was critical of Niki's Formula One ambitions, saying that "A Lauda should be on the economic pages of the newspaper, not the sports pages."[12]
In 1971, Hans and Niki Lauda had an argument, after Hans vetoed funding for Niki to pay for a drive in the 1972 Formula One season with March Engineering.[13] The pair never spoke again.[3][13] Hans Lauda died in 1974,[3] roughly three months before Niki's first Formula One victory at the 1974 Spanish Grand Prix.[3]
In the 2013 biographical sports film Rush, Hans Lauda is embodied by German actor Hans-Eckart Eckhardt in a supporting role as "Grandfather Lauda", rejecting Niki's Formula One ambitions in dialogue. His first name is not mentioned.[14]
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