Bernard Lathière

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Bernard Lathière (4 March 1929 – 27 June 1997) was a French civil servant, politician, and businessman who played a major role in building French aviation. He is considered one of the founders of Airbus, serving as the first managing director of Airbus Industrie. He later chaired Aéroports de Paris from 1986 to 1992 and was a director at Sud Aviation and the Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale.

Born in Calcutta, in the British Raj, he was the son of Jean Lathière, a Limoges politician, and Lucienne Fagneaux. He grew up speaking several languages and studied at Sciences Po (1953), earned a law license from the Sorbonne (1954), and graduated from the École Nationale d’Administration (Strasbourg) in 1955. He married Odette Duport in 1957.

Lathière began his career in 1955 at the Ministry of Economics and Finance, rising to Inspector General of Finance in 1957. He held various roles, including technology advisor and Director of Air Transport in 1968. He also led Sud Aviation (1968) and the Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale (1970), and served as the government liaison to Air France and UTA from 1968 to 1971. He was France’s delegate to the Concorde project from 1969 to 1974.

In 1975 he joined Airbus Industrie as managing director, helping oversee the A300, A310, and A320 programs. He stepped down in February 1985 after two five-year terms. He then became Chairman of Aéroports de Paris, boosting traffic at Charles de Gaulle Airport, and retired in 1992 for health reasons. He died in Paris in 1997.

Lathière received several honors, including Officer of the Legion of Honour, Commander of the Ordre national du Mérite, and the 1st class Médaille de l'Aéronautique. A street in Limoges, Rue Bernard Lathière, is named in his honor.