Swiss journalist and intellectual Niklaus Meienberg, who was particularly well respected in German-speaking Switzerland, ended his own life 25 years ago. After studying history at the University of Fribourg and Zurich, Niklaus Meienberg became a journalist. He went first to Paris, where he covered the start of May 1968 events and the rise of the French politician François Mitterrand. His Paris years helped to seal his reputation. Meienberg’s articles, which were popular with the public, appeared in leading newspapers such as Weltwoche, Tages-Anzeiger and Ostschweiz. Returning to Switzerland, he became a real icon of journalism thanks to his reporting. But he was deliberately controversial, also making enemies by attacking the establishment. This is the case, for example, with his damning portrait of the reigning prince of Liechtenstein or of Ulrich Wille, the general who led the Swiss army during the First World War. His polemic writing meant that he was no longer published ...
