Fernando Berckemeyer

Fernando Berckemeyer Olaechea (born 20 February 1978) is a Peruvian journalist who served as editor-in-chief of El Comercio, Peru's oldest and most traditional newspaper, from 2014 to 2018, being the youngest to hold the position.

Fernando Berckemeyer
Born (1978-02-20) February 20, 1978
Lima, Peru
Alma materPontifical Catholic University of Peru (LL.B.)
Harvard University (LL.M.)
New York University (M.A.)
OccupationEditor-in-chief, El Comercio
Notable credit(s)
El Comercio, Peru.21, El Nuevo Herald

During his leadership at El Comercio, Berckemeyer was signaled as one of the most powerful and influential leaders in Peru, and the most powerful individual in the written press, by the "Encuesta Poder" poll.[1][2]

Early life and education

Berckemeyer was born in Lima on 20 February 1978. The son of Fernando Berckemeyer Conroy and Ana María Olaechea Álvarez-Calderón, on his mother's side, he comes from a renowned family of jurists and politicians, being Manuel Pablo Olaechea, Prime Minister of Peru in the late nineteenth century, his great-grandfather, and Finance Minister Manuel Augusto Olaechea, his grandfather. He is also the nephew of former President of Congress and vintner businessman, Pedro Olaechea.

Upon completing his primary and secondary education at the Inmaculado Corazón and Santa María Marianistas schools in Lima, Berckemeyer was admitted to the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru to study law. During his law school years, he founded the news portal Enfoque Derecho, and was editor-in-chief of the Thémis Law Review.[3]

A 24-year old Fernando Berckemeyer receiving the first-prize diploma from Víctor M. Marroquín, at a Harvard Law School Association - Peru Legal Essays Contest awards ceremony, November 2002.

Subsequently, Berckemeyer pursued his graduate education at Harvard Law School, where he obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in 2004. Additionally, he completed a program in philosophical studies at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, and a Master of Arts in Ibero-American literature at New York University Global Campus in Madrid, Spain.[4]

Career

Following the completion of his law degree, Berckemeyer was hired as a senior associate at his family's law firm, Estudio Olaechea, in Lima, and later on became an international associate at Shearman & Sterling in New York (2004-2005). During those years, he was involved in projects of the World Monuments Fund (WMF) in his country, and was part of the creation of the Peruvian chapter of the organization in 2014.[5]

Since 2003, he has been a columnist for the opinion pages of El Comercio and Peru.21, and since 2004, for El Nuevo Herald of Miami.

El Comercio

In 2005, after a one-year stint as a columnist, Berckemeyer joined El Comercio as an editorial writer and as a member of its editorial committee under the direction of Alejandro Miró-Quesada Cisneros. In 2012, he returned to the newspaper as a central opinion editor, thus initiating a shift in the editorial line, leading towards political and economic liberalism, in contrast to the conservative line for which El Comercio has been known since its origins.[6]

In 2014, upon the death of editor Fritz Du Bois,[7] Berckemeyer assumed the position, becoming the youngest editor of the newspaper since its foundation in 1839, and initiating a process of internal reform that led to the departure of several of the most important editors.[8][9][10][11] In 2015 and 2016, he was chosen by the "Encuesta Poder" national poll as the most powerful person in the written press, and as one of the two journalists who appeared on the list of the 21 most powerful and influential people in Peru.[12][13]

Under Berckemeyer's leadership, El Comercio abandoned its traditional sheet format to adopt the Berlin one, and reopened its dissolved research unit.[14] Subsequently, he was appointed Vice President of the Press Freedom Committee of the Inter-American Press Association.[15]

In May 2018, he resigned from the position of editor-in-chief of El Comercio.[16][17] He currently collaborates as a columnist for CNN.[18]

References
  1. El Comercio, Redacción (20 September 2016). "Ellos son los periodistas que lideran la encuesta del poder". elcomercio.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  2. Semana Económica (21 September 2016). "Encuesta del Poder: ¿quiénes son los periodistas más influyentes en radio, TV, prensa e Internet?". semanaeconomica.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  3. Encuentra tu poema. "Fernando Berckemeyer". encuentratupoema.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  4. Tribuna de Ética. "Fernando Berckemeyer Olaechea". tribunaldeetica.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  5. El Comercio, Redacción (24 June 2008). "World Monuments Fund se une al rescate de Andahuaylillas". elcomercio.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  6. El Comercio, Redacción (22 October 2014). "Fernando Berckemeyer Olaechea es nuevo director de El Comercio". elcomercio.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  7. Gestión, Redacción (26 May 2014). "Fallece Fritz Du Bois director de El Comercio". elcomercio.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  8. El Comercio, Redacción (22 October 2014). "Fernando Berckemeyer Olaechea es nuevo director de El Comercio". elcomercio.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  9. La Mula, Revista (9 February 2015). "Meier versus Berckemeyer". redaccion.lamula.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  10. Útero (13 February 2015). "El Comercio: Despidos, jales y trolls. La historia de la reforma desde dentro". utero.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  11. La República, Augusto Álvarez Rodrich (11 February 2015). "Los fines y el medio". larepublica.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  12. El Comercio, Redacción (20 September 2016). "Ellos son los periodistas que lideran la encuesta del poder". elcomercio.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  13. Semana Económica (21 September 2016). "Encuesta del Poder: ¿quiénes son los periodistas más influyentes en radio, TV, prensa e Internet?". semanaeconomica.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  14. El Comercio, Redacción (14 March 2016). "El Comercio se adapta a tu vida: conoce el formato berlinés". elcomercio.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  15. Acceso Perú (14 September 2016). "Director de El Comercio fue nombrado vicepresidente de comisión de la SIP". s3.accesoperu.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  16. La Mula, Revista (2 May 2018). "Berckemeyer deja El Comercio: "Lo mejor para el diario es que venga un nuevo director"". redaccion.lamula.pe (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  17. Godoy, José Alejandro (2 May 2018). "Relevo en la dirección de El Comercio: renuncia Fernando Berckemeyer". josealejandrogody.wordpress.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  18. CNN Español. "Fernando Berckemeyer". cnnespanol.cnn.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
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