Thomas Schäfer (born December 1, 1952, in Oldenburg) is a retired German diplomat. He was German ambassador to North Korea from 2007 to 2010 and from 2013 to 2018. He voluntarily served the second term, as he is personally fascinated by the country. He was described as one of the most experienced Western diplomats in Pyongyang by ''

Handelsblatt The ''Handelsblatt'' (literally "commerce paper" in English) is a German-language business newspaper published in Düsseldorf by Handelsblatt Media Group, formerly known as Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt. History and profile ''Handelsblatt'' was es ...

''. Schäfer is the author of ''From Kim Jong Il to Kim Jong Un: How the Hardliners Prevailed: On the Political History of North Korea (2007 - 2020)''. He received his PhD in German History from the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...

in 1985. His first posting after studying history took him to Beijing in the 1980s. The fact that he gained an insight into the Chinese bureaucracy there helped him to understand North Korea. Since then, he has commuted between Latin America and Asia, holding posts in El Salvador, Hong Kong and Venezuela. Before heading back to North Korea, Schäfer became German ambassador to Guatemala, his wife's home country, in 2010.

References

External links

Articles of Thomas Schäfer
at NK News
How the Hardliners Prevailed in North Korea: A Book Talk with Amb. Thomas Schäfer
Ambassadors of Germany to North Korea German writers University of Kiel alumni Living people 1952 births {{Germany-diplomat-stub