Gregor Peter Schmitz

Gregor is editor-in-chief of STERN magazine, one of the largest and most iconic German (and global) magazine brands. In addition to that, he was appointed editor- in-chief of the premium magazine brands GEO and Capital in 2023. Prior to that, he served as editor-in-chief of one of the leading German dailies and as a foreign correspondent for DER SPIEGEL, Germany ́s newsmagazine, in Brussels and (from 2007 to 2013) Washington. During his time in DC, he covered the Obama White House and two presidential campaigns. Gregor was part of SPIEGEL's WikiLeaks and NSA coverage and was awarded the prestigious Arthur F. Burns, Henri Nannen Prize and Theodor Wolff-Prize for his reporting. His bestselling first book, co-authored with legendary investor and activist George Soros ("The tragedy of the European Union – Disintegration or Revival”) was published by Random House and translated into more than ten languages worldwide. Before starting his work with SPIEGEL, Gregor headed the Brussels Office of Bertelsmann Foundation, one of Europe’s largest think tanks. He is a graduate of Harvard University (MPA) and Cambridge University (MPhil) and holds a law degree from Munich University. He also studied at Sciences-Po Paris and earned a doctorate in political science. In addition to his writing, Gregor is a frequent radio and TV commentator in national and international programs. He is also a member of the Atlantic Council, a Young Leader of the American Council on Germany, a McCloy Scholar of the German National Merit Foundation and head of the Harvard Alumni association Germany. He was named “Editor-in-Chief 2020” and a “Journalist of the Year” by Germany’s leading media publication Medium Magazin three years in a row.

Events: Democracy and Journalism in Challenging Times (October 27), Reasoning from the Past: Challenges for Democracy Across Centuries (October 29)