Manfred Lahnstein
Manfred Lahnstein (born 20 December 1937) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). In 1982 he was German Federal Minister of Finance as well as Federal Minister of Economics and until 2004 worked for the media conglomerate Bertelsmann.
Manfred Lahnstein

Ludwig Wegmann · Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F056466-0036 / Wegmann, Ludwig / CC-BY-SA 3.0 · This image was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the German Federal Archive (Deutsches Bundesarchiv) as part of a cooperation project. The German Federal Archive guarantees an authentic representation · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
- Born
- 1937. · Erkrath.
- Nationality
- Germany.
- Occupation
- writer, economist, politician, university teacher, business consultant and board member.
- Education
- University of Cologne.
- Honours
- Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and honorary doctorate of Haifa University.
- Languages
- German.
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Manfred Lahnstein. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
gnd · 1136395466 · wikidata · Q69133 · wikipedia · Manfred Lahnstein
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
The documentary record
Statements marked “Documentary record” are set in the article beside the passage they confirm. Each is read from the authority records of the institutions named here; select “Prove” to see the record it was read from, where in that record, and when.
Institutions cited
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Not stated by the sources cited: nationality
Complete reading chain (JSON)In this article
Early life
Early life
Manfred Lahnstein studied at University of Cologne. The recorded working language is German. Places of work recorded in the authority are Hamburg and Bonn. Employment is recorded with Hamburg University of Music and Drama. Positions recorded include member of the German Bundestag and Federal Minister of Finance. Distinctions recorded are Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and honorary doctorate of Haifa University.
The son of a country doctor in Erkrath, Manfred Lahnstein grew up with three siblings.
Documentary record
Manfred Lahnstein, a politician, “Vorstandsmitglied”, “Unternehmensberater” and university teacher, was born in 1937. The birth is recorded by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Career
Career
In 1982, Lahnstein became West Germany's minister of finance under Helmut Schmidt. To 1983 he was professional politician. In 1983 Manfred Lahnstein was recruited by Bertelsmann AG in Gütersloh, from the Bundestag. At Bertelsmann, he was initially on the board responsible for printing and industrial enterprises, and moved in 1994 as a member of the Supervisory Board. From 1998 to 2004 he worked for the Bertelsmann Group, as special representative of the Board. From 1986, he is professor of culture and media management at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. Since 1994, he heads in Hamburg the consulting firm Lahnstein & Partners, International Consultants. Since 1996, he is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of one of Germany's largest private foundations, the ZEIT-Stiftung. He was the first German and Non-Jew to become Chairman of the Board of Governors at the University of Haifa in 2001, where he had been Governor since 1996. The Bucerius Institute for Research of Contemporary German History and Society at the University of Haifa was founded in 2001 on this occasion by the ZEIT-Stiftung. In February 2009, he was appointed to the Supervisory Board of the London-based investment company Berger Lahnstein Middelhoff & Partners LLP (BLM Partners). Lahnstein is an adviser to the Saudi conglomerate Olayan Group and the investment bank Rothschild.
Documentary record
Hamburg is recorded as a place of activity by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Personal life
Personal life
Lahnstein is married to Sonja Lahnstein-Kandel. They live in Hamburg and have one daughter and a son from his first marriage.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1937
Manfred Lahnstein born at Erkrath.
Other activities
Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), Member

For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Bundeskanzler Helmut Schmidt empfängt die Ministerpräsidenten der Länder im Bundeskanzleramt.
Engelbert Reineke · Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F059645-0012 / Reineke, Engelbert / CC-BY-SA 3.0 · This image was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the German Federal Archive (Deutsches Bundesarchiv) as part of a cooperation project. The German Federal Archive guarantees an authentic representation

For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. 02.02.1983 Professor Dr. Hans-Jürgen Krupp, Manfred Lahnstein und Heinz Westphal legen vor der Bundeskonferenz die SPD-Vorstellungen zur Arbeitsmarkt-Politik dar.
Engelbert Reineke · Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F064991-0014 / Reineke, Engelbert / CC-BY-SA 3.0 · This image was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the German Federal Archive (Deutsches Bundesarchiv) as part of a cooperation project. The German Federal Archive guarantees an authentic representation
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Bibliographie Prof. Dr. h. c. Dr. h. c. Manfred Lahnstein, Hamburger Universitätsreden Neue Folge, 2009
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2009
- Curriculum Vitae Prof. Dr. h. c. Dr. h. c. Manfred Lahnstein, Hamburger Universitätsreden Neue Folge, 2009
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2009
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q69133: Manfred Lahnstein
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Manfred Lahnstein”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 1136395466, Verleihung der Moses Mendelssohn Medaille an Manfred Lahnstein (2006 : Hamburg).
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Manfred Lahnstein, revision 1349693937 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Deutscher Bundestag, Verwaltung WD 3 / ZI 5. Die Mitglieder des Deutschen Bundestages - 1.-13. Wahlperiode: Alphabetisches Gesamtverzeichnis. webarchiv.bundestag.de. 28 February 1998.
- 2.Schmidt Appoints Lahnstein To Post of Finance Minister. New York Times. 28 April 1982.
- 3.The New York Times. German communications giant looks to U.S. for future growth. The Montreal Gazette. A-14. 24 July 1984.
- 4.Members Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES).
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Bibliographie Prof. Dr. h. c. Dr. h. c. Manfred Lahnstein, Hamburger Universitätsreden Neue Folge, 2009Crossref registry
Institutional witnessscholarly publication
Curriculum Vitae Prof. Dr. h. c. Dr. h. c. Manfred Lahnstein, Hamburger Universitätsreden Neue Folge, 2009Crossref registry
Institutional witnessauthority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 1136395466, Verleihung der Moses Mendelssohn Medaille an Manfred Lahnstein (2006 : Hamburg).Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
Teachers, collaborators, publishers and institutions recorded against this person, each on a stated basis.
Born at
1- ErkrathPlace
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
Studied at
1- University of CologneOrganisation
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,529 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Manel LoureiroAuthor
- Manès SperberAuthor
- Manfred Freiherr von KillingerAuthor
- Manfred KrugAuthor
- Manfred OstenAuthor
- Manfred RommelAuthor
- Manfred SpitzerAuthor
- Manfred, King of SicilyAuthor
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Manfred Lahnstein?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.