Heiko Engelkes (1 April 1933 – 6 November 2008) was a German journalist. Born in

Norden Norden is a Scandinavian and German word, directly translated as "the North". It may refer to: Places England * Norden, Basingstoke, a ward of Basingstoke and Deane * Norden, Dorset, a hamlet near Corfe Castle * Norden, Greater Manchester, a vil ...

, he studied law,

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

in Wilhelmshaven, Hamburg and Berlin. Following this he spent time as a

Fulbright scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

at the ''William Allan White School of Journalism'' of the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. He began his career as a journalist in 1956, freelancing for the

Norddeutscher Rundfunk Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR; ''Northern German Broadcasting'') is a public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR broadcasts for the German states of Lower Saxony, M ...

, the local public broadcaster for

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and surrounding areas of the

Federal Republic A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. At its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means: "a country that is governed by elected representatives ...

, and for the Deutsches Allgemeines Sonntagsblatt, a weekly newspaper published by the Evangelical Church in Germany. In 1960 he switched to the

Westdeutscher Rundfunk Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (''West German Broadcasting Cologne''; WDR, ) is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the conso ...

, a public broadcaster based in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, and became part of the editorial team of the

Tagesschau (German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality ...

, the broadcaster’s news service. He became head of the editorial team in 1965. In 1974 he moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

as an ARD correspondent, taking over the leadership of ARD’s studio there in 1978. After five years there he returned to Germany in 1983, becoming Second-Editor-in-Chief of

ARD-aktuell ARD-aktuell has been the central television newsroom of the ARD since 1977. ARD-aktuell is a jointed institution of the ARD. It is located at the NDR (Norddeutscher Rundfunk) in Hamburg-Lokstedt. The basis of the work of ''ARD-aktuell'' is ...

, the broadcaster’s central TV news bureau. He returned to

as local chief at the ARD studio in 1991, remaining there until his retirement in 1998. He died in

on 6 November 2008 from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Bibliography (selected)

*''Mitterrand, aus der Nähe gesehen''. Econ Verlag, München 1983, *''Bonjour, Paris : mein Leben mit Frankreich''. Lübbe Verlag 1999, *''König Jacques. Chiracs Frankreich''. Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin 2005, *''Ségolène Royal''. Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin 2007,

Honours

* 1987: Chévalier of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

* 1998: Adenauer-de Gaulle Prize * 2005: German Federal Cross of Merit I. Klasse

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Engelkes, Heiko 1933 births 2008 deaths People from Norden, Lower Saxony German editors German male journalists Deaths from cancer in Germany German non-fiction writers Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Knights of the Legion of Honour German male writers 20th-century non-fiction writers