Bernd Späth
- Writer
Bernd Späth is a jurist (universities of Munich and Bonn). His experience in marketing, advertising, public relations, booking of prominent speakers and political lobbying stretches over more than 30 years. He served clients like the European Commission, the European Parliament, the German Government and German Parliament "Bundestag"; but also Bayer Co., the German Building Industry and the Association of Food Industry. With his numerous renowned clients he worked on dozens of national and international markets. He also was an advisor to the former ruler of Qatar, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hamad al Thani and the former Defence Minister - and now President - of Gabun, Ali Bongo.
Besides that, he served as a Secretary General of the well-reputated German economic award "Goldene Brücke" (Golden Bridge).
Between 1982 and 1995, Bernd Späth participated in five expeditions on the Norwegian arctic island of Spitsbergen. During his extended stays adding to over four months he made over 10.000 km on snow scooter across the polar ice pack and glaciers. In 1983, he was the first German to reach Spitsbergen's Northern tip across the inland ice. On his trips, he encounted several polar bears and survived two bear attacks which made him a frequent guest on TV and radio networks.
Since his 1981 bestseller "Side Aches" - a satirical novel about a pregnant man, turned into a successful movie in 1985, later finding surprising similarities in Arnold Schwarzenegger's movie "Junior" - Bernd Späth published 3 more novels acting in the arctic environment and 3 further novels acting in the German postwar-era. His four theatre plays were equally successful in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Liechtenstein, adding up to meanwhile over 1.000 performances.
Today, he lives in Starnberg (Bavaria) and runs a successful coaching office for leadership personnel. He turned 2 of his arctic novels into feature film screenplays (drama), available in English and German.