Lu Da was born in An Guo, Hebei Province. He was Deputy Director of the Organization Department of the CPC Tianjin Municipal Committee, Vice Party Secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC (concurrent), Deputy Director of Tianjin Municipal Commission for Supervision, First Secretary of Tanggu District Committee of Tianjin, Member and Secretary-General of Standing Committee of the Tianjin CPC Committee, Vice Mayor of Tianjin, and Secretary-General of Tianjin Municipal People’s Committee (concurrent). After 1973, he served successively as the Deputy Director of the Revolutionary Committee of Tianjin Science and Technology Bureau, Director of Tianjin Municipal Port Office, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Port Construction Headquarters (concurrent), Secretary-General of Tianjin Revolutionary Committee, Director of Political Department of Tianjin Municipal Commission Industry and Communications, Director of Tianjin Municipal Higher Education Commission, Vice Chairman of the CPPCC Tianjin Committee, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Ninth Municipal People’s Congress, Secretary-General of the Standing Committee of the Ninth Municipal People’s Congress (concurrent), Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Tenth Municipal People’s Congress, and Deputy to the Fifth and Sixth National People’s Congress.
He concurrently served as Party Secretary of Tianjin University from 1979 to 1981.