Kai Diekmann
 Kai Diekmann     (editor) | |
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| Born | 27 June 1964 |
| Nationality | German |
| Alma mater | University of Münster, Axel-Springer-Akademie |
| Member of | American Council on Germany/Young Leaders/1995, Atlantik-Brücke, M100 Sanssouci Colloquium, The Times/Board |
Kai Diekmann is an influential German editor. From 1998 until 2000 he was editor of Welt am Sonntag (English: World on Sunday). From January 2001 to December 2015 he was chief editor of Bild Zeitung, Europe's biggest newspaper.
Early Life
After graduating from high school, he did his military service from 1983 to 1985. He first served in the Panzerjägerkompanie 190 in the Lützow barracks, and became a lieutenant in the military reserve. He is still a reserve officer, possibly similar to the system used in Britain and other NATO-countries, where journalist are kept in close contact to the military/intelligence apparatus by being (honorary) reserve officers (see 77. Brigade, Integrity Initiative.
He then began studying history and political science at the University of Münster. During military service he became a Militärfuchs, a military member of the Franconia Münster fraternity, a right-wing fencing student association.
Axel Springer
He dropped out of his studies a short time later when he started his professional career at Axel Springer in 1985 as a volunteer at the Axel Springer Journalism School in Hamburg, where he was stationed on trial in Bonn and New York City.
He made an in-house career, and stayed with various Axel Springer magazines and newspapers. In 1998 he became editor-in-chief of Welt am Sonntag, from where he switched to the editor-in-chief post of Bild on January 1, 2001. In 2004 he also became its editor and editor of Bild am Sonntag.
Kai Diekmann was so close to Chancellor Helmut Kohl and his wife, that he served as his best man[1], and was the editor of Kohl's memoirs.
Diekmann has been on the advisory board of the Turkish daily Hürriyet, which belongs to the Dogan media group, since 2004.
In 2017 Diekmann became a consultant to the American service company Uber, a company connected to the Axel Springer Group. Diekmann's task includes advising the company on political issues. The members of the committee meet once a year in San Francisco and usually receive an undisclosed amount of company shares as payment.
Diekmann is a member of the very influential Atlantik-Brücke Association and was a member of its board until June 2010. He completed its Young Leaders program in 1995.
Events Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Munich Security Conference/2019 | 15 February 2019 | 17 February 2019 | Germany Munich Bavaria | The 55th Munich Security Conference, which included "A Spreading Plague" aimed at "identifying gaps and making recommendations to improve the global system for responding to deliberate, high consequence biological events." |
| Munich Security Conference/2020 | 14 February 2020 | 16 February 2020 | Germany Munich Bavaria | The 56th Munich Security Conference, in 2020, "welcomed an unprecedented number of high-ranking international decision-makers." |
| WEF/Annual Meeting/2011 | 26 January 2011 | 30 January 2011 | World Economic Forum Switzerland | 2229 guests in Davos, with the theme: "Shared Norms for the New Reality". |
| WEF/Annual Meeting/2012 | 25 January 2012 | 29 January 2012 | Switzerland | 2113 guests in Davos |
| WEF/Annual Meeting/2014 | 22 January 2014 | 25 January 2014 | World Economic Forum Switzerland | 2604 guests in Davos considered "Reshaping The World" |
| WEF/Annual Meeting/2016 | 20 January 2016 | 23 January 2016 | World Economic Forum Switzerland | Attended by over 2500 people, both leaders and followers, who were explained how the Fourth Industrial Revolution would changed everything, including being a "revolution of values". |
| WEF/Annual Meeting/2017 | 17 January 2017 | 20 January 2017 | World Economic Forum Switzerland | 2950 known participants, including prominently Bill Gates. "Offers a platform for the most effective and engaged leaders to achieve common goals for greater societal leadership." |
