Government of Baden-Württemberg and ZEW Honour Lothar Späth in Memorial Event

On 21 March 2017, the government of Baden-Württemberg and the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) in Mannheim held a memorial event to pay tribute to the former Minister-President and co-initiator of ZEW, Professor Lothar Späth. With the help of Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg Winfried Kretschmann MdL, EU Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources Günther H. Oettinger, as well as other former colleagues of Späth, the event held at ZEW offered insights into Späth's ideas for an economically powerful and Central European Baden-Württemberg with regard to the current and future development of Europe.

"Lothar Späth was equally pragmatic and visionary – a combination of qualities which is not easy to find. Full of ideas and always with an eye on the future, Lothar Späth made the topic of innovation one of the main pillars of Baden-Württemberg’s policy plan. This was pioneering work in its truest sense; and it had an impact that went well beyond the borders of Baden-Württemberg," said Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg Winfried Kretschmann. "Späth's approach to European policy was characterised by a comprehensive vision that is very much in line with my understanding of European policy: The vision of a Europe with shared values, common principles of order and a common identity – a multi-cultural European society. Today, however, the EU is going through its worst crisis in its history. This is why we should take the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome not only as an opportunity to celebrate but also as an occasion to ask ourselves how the future of the EU should look like. We need a Europe that allows countries to progress at its own pace – with as much Community as possible and as much enhanced cooperation as necessary. It is precisely now that we need to work together towards a sustainable future for Europe. After all – as Lothar Späth once said – the only thing that grows without hard work is weeds."

"A visionary for Europe and the world"

"Lothar Späth was not only a visionary for Europe and the world, but also for science and research. He was able to recognise the key challenges associated with European policy and globalisation lying ahead in the coming decades. Apart from his focus on European policy, his initiative to establish the Centre for European Economic Research was motivated by yet another of his major ambitions: to promote cutting-edge research. This idea eventually led Lothar Späth to try something new and push the boundaries even further. It is in this spirit that ZEW has introduced a new research group that focuses on market design. In its function as an "engineer for the economy", the Research Group's aim is to develop, simulate and test market rules for stable and well-functioning markets and institutions. After this, the Research Group "Market Design" helps implement those rules and provides scientific support – thus honouring the vision of Lothar Späth, who always placed great importance on the transfer of knowledge between theory and practice," explained ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach.

"Lothar Späth contributed greatly to the success of ZEW"

"Lothar Späth contributed greatly to the success of ZEW. The economic success and future sustainability of Baden-Württemberg had always been a matter of major concern for him. His efforts to help establish ZEW were also driven by these aims. One of the central pillars of his work was the transfer of knowledge between science and practice. ZEW's solid initial financial endowment was an important prerequisite for the extremely successful development of the institute. Today, ZEW is one of the leading economic research institutes in Europe. The success story of ZEW is not least thanks to Lothar Späth, whose memory we will honour in our future work," said Thomas Kohl, Director of Business and Administration of ZEW.

Co-initiator of ZEW

Lothar Späth, born 1937 in Sigmaringen, was as Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg from 1978 to 1991. Following this, he headed the company Jenoptik GmbH in Jena until 2003. On 18 March 2016, Lothar Späth died at the age of 78. The Minister-President and later businessman was primarily concerned with issues surrounding the adaptation of Baden-Württemberg's model of prosperity to changing social and technological circumstances. Through his interweaving of science and industry, he set the course for the globalised, digital world of the future at an early stage. This was why he also campaigned for the foundation of ZEW in Mannheim, which sprung from an initiative of the state government under his leadership.

For further information please contact

Thomas Kohl, Phone +49 (0)621 1235 111, E-mail kohl@zew.de