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 |
Early life
editHans 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]
Career
editDuring 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]
Relationship with Niki Lauda
editHans 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]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "Hans Lauda" (in German). Munzinger-Archiv. 30 July 1956. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ "Lauda, Ernst Ritter von (1859–1932), Wasserbau- und Brückenbautechniker" (in German). Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950. 1 March 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Müller, Stefan (2012). Niki Lauda: Alles unter eine Kappe (PDF) (pdf) (in German). Styria Media Group. pp. 15–21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2012.
- ^ a b c Markus, George (23 May 2019). "Familie Lauda: Blaues Blut und rotes Kapperl". Kurier. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ McFadden, Robert D. (21 May 2019). "Niki Lauda, Formula One Champion Who Pushed Limits, Dies at 70". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Die Präsidenten der IV von 1946 – 2012". Federation of Austrian Industries. 2012. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ "Niki Lauda dead at 70". Defence Point. 21 May 2019. Archived from the original on 23 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- ^ Bischof, Gunter (2020). Austria in the Nineteen Fifties. Routledge. ISBN 9781000675849.
- ^ a b Report on Austria. United States Office of High Commissioner for Austria. 1951. p. 27.
- ^ "Austria Threatened By Big European Trade War". The Daily News. 29 March 1960. p. 6. Retrieved 26 November 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Gossling, Stefan (June 2017). The Psychology of the Car: Automobile Admiration, Attachment, and Addiction. Elsevier. p. 196. ISBN 9780128110096.
- ^ "Niki Lauda: Calculative, Resilient, Three-Time World Champion". NDTV. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- ^ a b Henry, Alan (March 2009). "The years of the Rat". Motor Sport. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ "Rush – Alles für den Sieg" [Rush - Everything for victory]. filmstarts.de (in German). Retrieved 7 March 2022.