Ernst Joseph Sylvester Dietrich Bührle known as Dieter Bührle (December 31, 1921 – November 9, 2012) was a Swiss industrialist, businessman, field handball player and

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

. He was the only son of

Emil Georg Bührle Emil Georg Bührle (; 31 August 1890 - 26 November 1956) was a German-born Swiss industrialist, controversial armament manufacturer and art collector. Bührle was long-term managing owner of Oerlikon-Bührle and the founding patron of Foundation ...

, majority owner of

Oerlikon-Bührle ''Oerlikon-Bührle'' (full name ''Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon, Bührle & Co.'', initially ''Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon'') was a Switzerland, Swiss arms industry, armaments company based in Oerlikon (Zürich) from 1906 to 1999.Jürg Fink ...

and founder of Foundation E. G. Bührle. He was among the richest Swiss citizens.

Early life and education

Bührle was born December 31, 1921, in

Ilsenburg Ilsenburg () is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. It is situated under the north foot of the Harz Mountains, at the entrance to the Ilse valley with its little river, the Ilse, a tributary of the Oker, about six nort ...

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

, Germany to

and Wilhelmine Charlotte Schalk (1896-1979). His father was a director at Magdeburger Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik (today EMCO) at the time. His mother hailed from a

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

banking dynasty. In 1924, the family relocated to Zürich, where his father took-over the management of Oerlikon. He had one younger sister, Hortense, with whom he'd later became the trustees of Foundation E. G. Bührle. Since 1937, the family only held Swiss citizenship. He holds a

licentiate degree A licentiate (abbreviated Lic.) is an academic degree present in many countries, representing different educational levels. The Licentiate (Pontifical Degree) is a post graduate degree when issued by pontifical universities and other universitie ...

in law from the

University of Zürich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

(class of 1953).

Career

In 1953, he entered the family concern known as

, initially becoming a project manager for factories in Egypt and India. When his father died in 1956, Bührle took over the management of the company, which employed up to 37,000 people at the time and was the largest Swiss concern. With his sister, Bührle co-founded IHAG Holding, which held all industrial participations of the family, including 42% of

. He had intentions to study

Art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

, but for the majority of the career led the business for a mere of 37 years before ultimately retiring. After the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...

in 1970, Bührle was sentenced to a suspended prison sentence and penalty payments due to unauthorized weapons deliveries. A major consequence was that he had to leave his position of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the

Swiss Armed Forces The Swiss Armed Forces (; ; ; ; ) are the military and security force of Switzerland, consisting of land and air service branches. Under the country's militia system, regular soldiers constitute a small part of the military and the rest are ...

. Bührle developed strategies to expand the business from armament orders to the civil sector. In 1977, he acquired Bally, Balzers Vacuum Technics, Limmat Insurance Company and the Hotel Zürich in Zürich. Due to development of a

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

the concern had financial turbulences. In 1990, Bührle stepped back from management, and it was ultimately sold to Unaxis. He turned his activities towards his family holding, which also included a

private bank Private banks are banks owned by either the individual or a general partner(s) with limited partner(s). Private banks are not incorporated. In any such case, creditors can look to both the "entirety of the bank's assets" as well as the entire ...

Hotel Storchen Zürich Hotel Storchen, in Zürich, is one of the oldest hotels in Switzerland, dating to 1357. It is first written about using the name "Haus zum Storchen" in the city tax archives. Its name in English means Hotel Stork. The hotel offers attractive vi ...

, Hotel Castello del Sole in

Ascona 300px, Ascona Ascona ( ) is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. It is located on the shore of Lake Maggiore. The town is a popular tourist destination and holds the yearly Ascona Jazz Festival. ...

as well as a farm in the Maggia valley and a winery in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

. In 2010, he sold a 50% stake of the operating company of St. Gallen-Altenrhein Airport, to Markus Kopf.

Personal life

Bührle was married to Dorothea Meier. They had two children; Christian Bührle and Carole Bührle Franz (née Bührle). He resided in Zollikon near Zürich where he died aged 90 on November 9, 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buhrle, Dieter 1921 births 2012 deaths Swiss industrialists