Hanns-Martin Schleyer (May 1 1915 – October 18 1977) was a German manager and employer and industry representative, being the head of the two influential organizations Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA) and Federation of German Industries (BDI). While serving both functions, he was kidnapped on 5 September,1977 by the extreme-left militant organisation Red Army Faction (RAF) and murdered one and a half months later after the German government did not give in to RAF's demands. The abduction and murder are commonly seen as the climax of the RAF insurgency in Germany (German Autumn).
In the Third Reich, Schleyer had been a mid-ranking SS officer. In World War II, he had first served at the Western Front and, after an accident, been deployed as an adviser to a German economist in one of the territories occupied by Nazi Germany. In post-war Germany, Schleyer joined the conservative party CDU.
