Michael Sontheimer

Michael Sontheimer, 69, works as a historian and journalist in Berlin. In 1978 he was among the founders of die tageszeitung (taz), later it’s editor in chief. He worked as a staff writer for DIE ZEIT and DER SPIEGEL. In 2012 Sontheimer made the first contacts between WikiLeaks and the SPIEGEL magazine which became a media partner together with the Guardian, the New York Times and others. Since then Sontheimer has covered the epic Wikileaks story and the ongoing scandalous persecution of Julian Assange. He visited the Australien journalist several times at the Ecuadorian embassy in London for interviews and background talks. Sontheimer is the author of 10 political and historical books and since 2006 member of the Kuratorium at taz Panter Foundation.