Alfred Herrhausen(1930-1989)
He grew up with his twin sister Anne in middle-class circumstances. During his childhood he attended the Carl-Humann-Gymnasium in Essen-Steele and later the Nazi elite school "Reichsschule Feldafing der NSDAP". After finishing school with a high school diploma, Herrhausen studied business administration in Cologne. In 1952 he graduated with a degree in business administration. He then received his doctorate in 1954. rer. pole. From 1952 he worked as an executive assistant in the headquarters of Ruhrgas AG in Essen. In 1953, Herrhausen married Ulla Sattler, daughter of the General Director of the United Electricity Works Westfalen AG (VEW0), Paul Sattler. In 1955, Herrhausen moved to the United Electricity Works Westfalen AG in Dortmund. Their daughter Bettina was born in 1959. From 1966 onwards, Herrhausen was responsible for the partial privatization of VEW and in 1967 he was appointed CFO of VEW.
From 1968 Herrhausen lived in New York for a year. He worked at Empire Trust Company, a North American commercial bank, where he broadened his experience in international finance. In 1969, at the request of the board spokesman, Dr. Wilhelm Christians, at the age of 38, moved to Frankfurt am Main as deputy board member at Deutsche Bank AG. In 1971 he was appointed a full member of the bank's board of directors. He was responsible for the bank's international business (North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) and foreign trade financing as well as for economic issues. He also looked after the Essen branch. In 1974 he was appointed by the Federal Minister of Finance to the study commission "Fundamental Issues in the Banking Industry" (Banking Structure Commission), whose task was to examine the structure of the German banking industry and to develop proposals for improving the credit system. From 1977 he was involved in the reorganization of the German aerospace industry on behalf of Chancellor Helmut Schmidt.
In addition, Herrhausen was committed to the preservation of the ironworks in the Ruhr area. He was also a member of the board of directors of the first German private university in Witten-Herdecke and a member of the "Ruhr Area Initiative Circle". In 1977 he married his second wife, the Austrian-born doctor Waltraud (Traudl) Baumgartner. Their daughter Anna was born from this relationship in 1978. In 1983 he published the non-fiction book "Competition and Regulation in the Banking Industry". From 1985, Herrhausen was spokesman for the board of Deutsche Bank AG in Frankfurt am Main. An office he held together with Dr. Wilhelm Christians until his retirement in 1988. On May 11, 1988, Herrhausen was appointed sole spokesman for the board of Deutsche Bank AG. Only Hermann Josef Abs had held this office before him. Herrhausen began the strategic realignment of Deutsche Bank. After numerous internal changes, he began to use synergy effects as one of the first managers in his position by purchasing additional companies.
Herrhausen was also an advisor and friend of Chancellor Helmut Kohl. As chairman of the supervisory board of Mercedes-Benz AG, together with CEO Edzard Reuter, he pushed through the transformation of Daimler-Benz AG into an "integrated technology group" against much resistance. In 1988, Herrhausen made headlines when he suggested international partial debt forgiveness for Third World countries. In 1987 his non-fiction book "Concepts for the Future: Economic and Regulatory Alternatives" was published. He tried to improve the image of the banks in numerous lectures and interviews. He emphasized the responsibility of banks and their managers. In his last major act, Herrhausen bought the investment bank Morgan Grenfell, London, for Deutsche Bank on November 27, 1989 for 2.7 billion DM; the largest investment since 1945.
Alfred Herrhausen died on November 30, 1989 in Bad Homburg v.d.H. He was officially the victim of a terrorist attack by the so-called 3rd generation of the "Red Army Faction" (RAF). The following day, around 10,000 people marched in silence through Frankfurt's financial district. To date there has been no investigation into the attack; all suspects were acquitted.
From 1968 Herrhausen lived in New York for a year. He worked at Empire Trust Company, a North American commercial bank, where he broadened his experience in international finance. In 1969, at the request of the board spokesman, Dr. Wilhelm Christians, at the age of 38, moved to Frankfurt am Main as deputy board member at Deutsche Bank AG. In 1971 he was appointed a full member of the bank's board of directors. He was responsible for the bank's international business (North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) and foreign trade financing as well as for economic issues. He also looked after the Essen branch. In 1974 he was appointed by the Federal Minister of Finance to the study commission "Fundamental Issues in the Banking Industry" (Banking Structure Commission), whose task was to examine the structure of the German banking industry and to develop proposals for improving the credit system. From 1977 he was involved in the reorganization of the German aerospace industry on behalf of Chancellor Helmut Schmidt.
In addition, Herrhausen was committed to the preservation of the ironworks in the Ruhr area. He was also a member of the board of directors of the first German private university in Witten-Herdecke and a member of the "Ruhr Area Initiative Circle". In 1977 he married his second wife, the Austrian-born doctor Waltraud (Traudl) Baumgartner. Their daughter Anna was born from this relationship in 1978. In 1983 he published the non-fiction book "Competition and Regulation in the Banking Industry". From 1985, Herrhausen was spokesman for the board of Deutsche Bank AG in Frankfurt am Main. An office he held together with Dr. Wilhelm Christians until his retirement in 1988. On May 11, 1988, Herrhausen was appointed sole spokesman for the board of Deutsche Bank AG. Only Hermann Josef Abs had held this office before him. Herrhausen began the strategic realignment of Deutsche Bank. After numerous internal changes, he began to use synergy effects as one of the first managers in his position by purchasing additional companies.
Herrhausen was also an advisor and friend of Chancellor Helmut Kohl. As chairman of the supervisory board of Mercedes-Benz AG, together with CEO Edzard Reuter, he pushed through the transformation of Daimler-Benz AG into an "integrated technology group" against much resistance. In 1988, Herrhausen made headlines when he suggested international partial debt forgiveness for Third World countries. In 1987 his non-fiction book "Concepts for the Future: Economic and Regulatory Alternatives" was published. He tried to improve the image of the banks in numerous lectures and interviews. He emphasized the responsibility of banks and their managers. In his last major act, Herrhausen bought the investment bank Morgan Grenfell, London, for Deutsche Bank on November 27, 1989 for 2.7 billion DM; the largest investment since 1945.
Alfred Herrhausen died on November 30, 1989 in Bad Homburg v.d.H. He was officially the victim of a terrorist attack by the so-called 3rd generation of the "Red Army Faction" (RAF). The following day, around 10,000 people marched in silence through Frankfurt's financial district. To date there has been no investigation into the attack; all suspects were acquitted.
