Derk Sauer, the pioneering Dutch journalist and media entrepreneur, has died in the Netherlands following injuries sustained in a boating accident in Greece.
A lifelong champion of independent journalism, Sauer played a leading role in supporting free media in Russia – from the freewheeling post-Soviet 1990s to the harsh days following the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when he helped exile Russian media regroup in the Netherlands.
“Derk believed passionately and above all in honest and fair reporting,” said IWPR International Chair Sir David Bell, who while Chairman at The Financial Times worked together with Sauer in launching the business paper Vedomosti.
“The Moscow Times, which he founded, was a beacon of light and truth in post-Brezhnev Russia and continued to be so until the 2022 invasion of Ukraine when he was forced to close its print version,” said Sir David. “But he made sure that it continues online from Amsterdam and he helped many other Russian journalists who had felt forced to leave the country.”
From 2014 to 2018, Sauer served as Chair of IWPR Netherlands, helping the organisation establish its not-for-profit status, extend its patrons’ network and host public events. As chair, he enthusiastically supported IWPR media programming, including providing flak jackets and hostile environment training for local journalists in Ukraine, and mentoring and other assistance for journalists, citizen reporters and civic groups in the Middle East. Sauer was instrumental in building IWPR’s relationship with the Dutch Postcode Lottery and securing generous support.
“Derk was a man of great courage and integrity and saw immediately the value of what IWPR does,” said Sir David. “We are in his debt, we shall miss him, and we offer our deepest sympathy to his family.”
The Godfather of the Media Business. Derk Sauer, journalist and media executive, dies at 72.
