Bertelsmann Stiftung

The Bertelsmann Stiftung is an independent foundation under private law, based in Gütersloh, Germany. It was founded in 1977 by Reinhard Mohn as the result of social, corporate and fiscal considerations. As the Bertelsmann Stiftung itself has put it, the foundation promotes "reform processes" and "the principles of entrepreneurial activity" to build a "future-oriented society." Since 1993, the Bertelsmann Stiftung has held the majority of capital shares in the Bertelsmann Group. It holds 80.9% together with the Reinhard Mohn Stiftung and the BVG Stiftung but has no voting rights. At the end of the 1970s, there were discussions concerning who would follow Reinhard Mohn as chairman of Bertelsmann. Against this background and because he believed that the state must be able to count on its citizens' willingness to assume responsibility and take the initiative, Mohn founded the Bertelsmann Stiftung on 8 February 1977. It was officially approved by the authorities on 14 March 1977. The Bertelsmann Stiftung was initially endowed with 100,000 Deutsche Marks in capital. About two years later it began its work. In 1979, Hans-Dieter Weger was appointed the first managing director. He developed the concept of an operational foundation that develops and oversees its own projects. One of the Bertelsmann Stiftung's first activities was the baseline study "Kommunikationsverhalten und Buch" (Communication Behavior and the Book), which was prepared in cooperation with Infratest. The Bertelsmann Stiftung and the Bertelsmann Group also provided support for the construction of the Gütersloh municipal library. In 1982, the Bertelsmann Stiftung presented its first public report of its activities. In the report's foreword, Karl Carstens, president of the Federal Republic of Germany, praised the "achievement of foundations in the public sphere." In the meantime, the Bertelsmann Stiftung had come to play a central role in Reinhard Mohn's sociopolitical activities. Mohn functioned as the foundation's sole executive and was supported by a newly created advisory board from 1983 onwards.