21 Facts About Theo Sommer

Theo Sommer was a German newspaper editor and intellectual.

Theo Sommer began working for Die Zeit in 1958, rising to an editor-in-chief and publisher.

Theo Sommer advocated the policy of detente with the Eastern bloc states.

From 1992, Sommer was publisher of Die Zeit, together with Marion Donhoff and Helmut Schmidt.

Theo Sommer was considered one of Germany's authorities on international relations and strategic issues.

Theo Sommer obtained his Abitur from Schwabisch Gmund in 1949 and then lived in Sweden for nine months.

Theo Sommer studied English, history and political science at the University of Tubingen, Manchester College in Indiana and the University of Chicago.

Theo Sommer began his career as a journalist with the Rems-Zeitung, a local paper in Schwabisch Gmund.

Theo Sommer joined the weekly Die Zeit as a political correspondent in 1958, and was responsible for foreign politics and security politics.

Theo Sommer became deputy editor-in chief in 1968, and editor-in-chief in 1973.

Theo Sommer took a break from the paper in 1969 and 1970 to work for the Federal Ministry of Defence, for the "White Paper" of the Bundeswehr, joining the planning staff of then-minister Helmut Schmidt.

For decades, Theo Sommer encouraged tolerance and Western support for East Germany.

From 1992, Theo Sommer was publisher of Die Zeit, together with Marion Donhoff and Helmut Schmidt.

Theo Sommer retired from the position in 2000, but kept writing for the paper as an editor-at-large.

Theo Sommer was a member of the Trilateral Commission, of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and of the German advisory committee of the German Marshall Fund.

Theo Sommer was a member of the advisory board of the Bertelsmann Stiftung from 1990 to 1996.

Since 2004, Theo Sommer was an editor-at-large for Times Media, which publishes the newspapers The Atlantic Times and The German Times.

Theo Sommer was a member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group.

Theo Sommer died in Hamburg on 22 August 2022, at the age of 92.

Theo Sommer did not recover from a fall at his home, which had left him in pain.

Theo Sommer was regarded as one of Germany's experts on international relations and strategic issues.