Herbert Culmann

Herbert Culmann (born February 15, 1921 in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse ; † February 5, 1998 in Bad Berleburg ) was a German lawyer and from 1972 to 1982 CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG .

Life

Culmann was the son of a businessman. After graduating from high school in 1939, he initially served in the Navy during World War II , but later joined the Air Force as a pilot through naval aviation . After the war he studied in Heidelberg Law and received his doctorate there in 1951. As one of the first employees at the former "corporation for air transport needs," he began his career in 1953 at Lufthansa. On July 4, 1957, Lufthansa granted him power of attorney , and in 1964 he was appointed to the board . At that time, the Lufthansa Executive Board members were all equal. In 1970 he became "Executive Board Spokesman", and in 1972 he became the first CEO of Lufthansa. Under his leadership, Lufthansa became an international airline with a state-of-the-art fleet. In 1974 Culmann had a serious traffic accident that severely impaired his health. Politicians used an affair about millions in commissions for the sale of cheap tickets in 1982 to replace him prematurely by the SPD politician Heinz Ruhnau . In the period after Lufthansa, Culmann was president of the German Aero Club for many years .

Honors

• Cross of Merit 1st Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1977)
• Great Cross of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1981)
• Large Cross of Merit with Star of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1991)

Web links

• Herbert Culmann in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available)
• Died: Herbert Culmann. In: Der Spiegel 7/1998. February 9, 1998, p. 210 .