The son of a country doctor in Erkrath, Manfred Lahnstein grew up with three siblings.
Career
In 1982, Lahnstein became West Germany's minister of finance under Helmut Schmidt.[2] To 1983 he was professional politician. In 1983 Manfred Lahnstein was recruited by Bertelsmann AG in Gütersloh, from the Bundestag. At Bertelsmann, he was initially on the board responsible for printing and industrial enterprises,[3] and moved in 1994 as a member of the Supervisory Board. From 1998 to 2004 he worked for the Bertelsmann Group, as special representative of the Board.
In February 2009, he was appointed to the Supervisory Board of the London-based investment company Berger Lahnstein Middelhoff & Partners LLP (BLM Partners).