Manfred Lautenschläger Prize

The prize, made possible by Manfred Lautenschläger through his foundation, specifically benefits the humanities and cultural sciences, whose status as guiding sciences for our present day he emphasizes with his focus on history, society, and culture. It is intended to be both a "recognition" and a "driving force" for young researchers.

The prize is endowed with €10,000 and will be awarded for the first time in 2022.

Who can be nominated?

Authors nominated for the award must not be older than 35 years of age on the submission deadline date. The nominated works must have been accepted as scientific achievements by a university or research institute in the state of Baden-Württemberg and must have been published or submitted for publication in the past two years. The prize cannot be shared between several people.

Who is allowed to make suggestions?

All members of the Philosophy and History Class of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences
the management of all academic institutions at universities in Baden-Württemberg (rectorates, deaneries, executive directors, institute management)
the management of all non-university research institutions in Baden-Württemberg (executive directors)
Unsolicited applications are not accepted.

The prize founder

Manfred Lautenschläger, born on December 15, 1938, in Karlsruhe, studied law in Heidelberg, Freiburg, and Hamburg after graduating from high school and completing his military service. He passed his second state examination in 1968. After a brief stint as a lawyer, he and Eicke Marschollek realized their idea of providing university graduates with advice on insurance matters, independently of insurance companies.

On January 1, 1971, Marschollek, Lautenschläger und Partner KG was founded, which was later converted into a limited liability company (GmbH) and then into a stock corporation in 1984. The company was listed on the stock exchange on June 15, 1988 (Stuttgart and Frankfurt).

Manfred Lautenschläger was Chairman of the Executive Board of Marschollek, Lautenschläger und Partner AG from 1984 to 1993 and of the newly founded MLP Holding AG from 1993 to 1999. At the Annual General Meeting on May 19, 1999, he moved from the Management Board to the Supervisory Board of the company, where he assumed the chairmanship. He stepped down as chairman in 2008 and left the Supervisory Board in 2018. The Supervisory Board of MLP SE appointed him as its honorary chairman on June 14, 2018.

In March 2002, he established the Manfred Lautenschläger Foundation, whose purpose is to promote science and research, education and training, art and culture, international understanding, and a sense of homeland.

On November 10, 1998, he was awarded an honorary senate position at Ruprecht Karls University in Heidelberg, and on October 18, 2008, he received an honorary doctorate.

On March 23, 2009, he was awarded the Cross of Merit, First Class, of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

He is married and has five children.

The award winners

The prize has been awarded since 2022 for work in the humanities and cultural sciences with a focus on history, society, and culture. It is intended to be both a "recognition" and a "driving force" for young researchers.

Previous award winners:

year	Name	Title
2025	Hausen, Maike	Reviewing Britain’s Presence East of Suez. Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand Foreign Policy Considerations Surrounding Southeast Asia, 1956–1971
2024	Ahner, Helen	Planetariums. Wonders of technology – techniques of wonder
2023	Landa, Sara	'Distance makes them resemble our own affairs'. Approaches to Chinese poetry in German poetry from Expressionism to the present day
2022	Sowada, Lena	The written language use of less skilled writers in personal documents from the German-French border region during the First World War

nomination deadline

Annually March 1 - June 30

What needs to be submitted?

Justification of the proposal, maximum two pages
resume
list of publications
award-worthy work

The documents should be submitted as a single PDF file and sent to hadw@hadw-bw.de .

When will the decision be made?

The Academy will announce its decision at the beginning of the year. The winner and their mentor will be notified of the result in writing.

Do you have any questions?

You can reach us by phone at +49 (0)6221 54-3265 or by email athadw[at]hadw-bw.de.

If you wish to send the documents by mail, please send them to:

Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Executive Secretariat
Karlstraße 4
69117 Heidelberg