Otto von Habsburg’s interest in vehicles, especially cars, was always well known. You can read about this, for example, in our recent article entitled: The Emperor, the Movie Star and Six Hundred Horsepower – Otto von Habsburg and the Bugatti Automobili.
Nevertheless, Otto von Habsburg not only had a close connection with the Bugatti car company, but also with the German car brand, Mercedes-Benz. In our photo collection there are many pictures of Otto von Habsburg in or with a car, with Mercedes being a frequently seen brand. As well as certainly enjoying travelling by the company’s vehicles, Otto von Habsburg was also interested in the process of the production. This is shown by his visit to the Mercedes-Benz car factory in Stuttgart on 18 May 1960, the photo album of which is in the keeping of our Foundation. Among others these were the pictures that Eckart von Klaeden was interested in during his visit.
Eckart von Klaeden is the Vice President for External Affairs at Daimler AG, formerly a politician of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), member of the Bundestag and Federal Minister. He is also a member of several foundations and is on the board of the Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag, a Protestant organisation. In addition to learning about the work of our Foundation, the discussion with Director Gergely Prőhle also covered Daimler AG’s investments in Hungary, Hungary’s European Union policy and the future of the CDU.
