Hans Lauda
Lauda in 1954
Born(1896-03-25)25 March 1896
Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Died21 January 1974(1974-01-21) (aged 77)
Vienna, Austria
NationalityAustrian
Alma mater
OccupationIndustrialist
Years active1923–1960
Known forPresident of Federation of Austrian Industries
Parent

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.

Early life

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]

Career

During the First World War, Lauda served in the Austrian artillery.[1] After the war, he worked for Veitscher [de] 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

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 [de] in a supporting role as "Grandfather Lauda", rejecting Niki's Formula One ambitions in dialogue. His first name is not mentioned.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Hans Lauda" (in German). Munzinger-Archiv. 30 July 1956. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  2. ^ "Lauda, Ernst Ritter von (1859–1932), Wasserbau- und Brückenbautechniker" (in German). Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815–1950. 1 March 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ a b c Markus, George (23 May 2019). "Familie Lauda: Blaues Blut und rotes Kapperl". Kurier. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b "Die Präsidenten der IV von 1946 – 2012". Federation of Austrian Industries. 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Niki Lauda dead at 70". Defence Point. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  8. ^ Bischof, Gunter (2020). Austria in the Nineteen Fifties. Routledge. ISBN 9781000675849.
  9. ^ a b Report on Austria. United States Office of High Commissioner for Austria. 1951. p. 27.
  10. ^ "Austria Threatened By Big European Trade War". The Daily News. 29 March 1960. p. 6. Retrieved 26 November 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Gossling, Stefan (June 2017). The Psychology of the Car: Automobile Admiration, Attachment, and Addiction. Elsevier. p. 196. ISBN 9780128110096.
  12. ^ "Niki Lauda: Calculative, Resilient, Three-Time World Champion". NDTV. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  13. ^ a b Henry, Alan (March 2009). "The years of the Rat". Motor Sport. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Rush – Alles für den Sieg" [Rush - Everything for victory]. filmstarts.de (in German). Retrieved 7 March 2022.
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