Bernard Lathière

Bernard Lathière (; 4 March 1929 – 27 June 1997) was a French civil servant, politician, and businessman known for his contributions to French aviation.

Lathière is considered one of the founding fathers of Airbus, along with Franz Josef Strauss, Henri Ziegler, and Roger Béteille, as he served as the first managing director of Airbus Industrie. He also served as the chairman of the Board of Directors of Aéroports de Paris from 1986 to 1992, and was a director at Sud Aviation and the Société Nationale Industrielle Aérospatiale.

Outside of aviation, he also served as Inspector General of Finance and Chairman of the National Foreign Trade Center of France. He was the son of Jean Lathière, a Vichyssois politician from Limoges, and his wife Lucienne (née Fagneaux). Bernard grew up speaking English, Bengali, Limousin Occitan, and French. During his tenure as managing director, he was oversaw the projects of the Airbus A300, Airbus A310, and Airbus A320. He stepped down voluntarily in February 1985 after two five-year terms.

He was appointed Chairman of Aéroports de Paris in 1986 and served until 1992. Through this job he helped increase traffic to Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Death and legacy Lathière retired for health reasons in 1992 and died on June 27, 1997, in Paris.

During his lifetime, Lathière became an Officer of the Legion of Honour and a Commander of the Ordre national du Mérite, and was awarded a 1st class Médaille de l'Aéronautique.