Real name: Fritz Ferdinand Pleitgen

German journalist, TV presenter and former intendant of German television and radio broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). He worked for many years as ARD-correspondent in Moscow (1970-1977), East-Berlin (1977-1982), Washington (1982-1987) and New York (1987). In 1988 Pleitgen was named editor-in-chief for Politics and Current Event of WDR in Cologne. Working three decades in television, he was named WDR Radio Director on 1st January 1994. On 17th March 1995 he was elected as intendant of WDR and hold this position till July 2007. Pleitgen was born 21st March 1938 in Duisburg-Meiderich, Germany, and died 15th September 2022 in Cologne, Germany.