Peter Conradi has worked in national and international journalism for more than three decades. As the Paris-based Europe Editor and former Foreign Editor of The Sunday Times, he can speak authoritatively on many aspects of international affairs, including the current war in Ukraine and its implications for Europe and the world. 

Peter’s links with Russia go back to 1988 when he was first posted to Moscow as a young reporter for Reuters news agency. A Russian speaker, he was based there for seven years, during which time he travelled widely through the region, experiencing at first hand the end of Communism and the break-up of the Soviet Union.  

These experiences informed his book, Who Lost Russia? How the World Entered a New Cold War, published in 2017 in response to Russia's previous attack on Ukraine, which was critically well received on both sides of the Atlantic. The New York Times called it ‘a smart, balanced analysis of the internal developments that have shaped Russia’s course since the break-up of the Soviet Union’.  

He has continued to follow developments closely since, travelling several times to Kyiv in 2019 to cover President Volodymyr Zelensky’s successful election campaign; his most recent visit to Ukraine was in December on the eve of the war. He has since reported extensively from central and eastern Europe, most recently visiting Estonia, where he interviewed Kaja Kallas, the prime minister, about her fears that her country could be next in the firing line.

Over the past few years, he has also covered the other big stories in Europe, including the continuing fallout from Brexit and last September’s German parliamentary elections. He is also continuing to write about the French presidential election, which begins on April 10. 

Peter has written several other books, including the international best seller, The King’s Speech, How One Man Saved the British Monarchy, jointly with Mark Logue, grandson of George VI’s speech therapist, Lionel Logue, which told the true story of the events that inspired the multi-Oscar-winning film. The book was a great commercial success, occupying the number one slot on the UK best-seller list and making it into the top 10 in America. A sequel, The King’s War, that came out in Autumn 2018, took the story on, exploring the role Lionel Logue played in helping the King through Britain’s darkest hour. 

Peter read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Brasenose College, University of Oxford, and economics and politics at Ludwig-Maximilian University, Munich and went on to hold several positions at Reuters and then at The European and The Sunday Times. The main emphasis of his career has been on international news, but he has had stints editing the Sunday Times’s Money section and its Home supplement, giving him a knowledge of property and of the financial markets. His academic background in economics adds to this, and he can handle complex subjects in a comprehensible and entertaining manner. He is a regular pundit on the BBC, Sky and Times Radio. Besides Russian, he speaks fluent French, German and Italian. 

Continue Reading »