Obituary Thomas Karger, Dr. h.c.
1930–2020
It is our sad duty to inform you that our long-term Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr. h.c. Thomas Karger passed away on June 7, 2020; he died peacefully at the age of 90.
He was born in 1930 and joined the family business Karger Publishers in 1950. His training in publishing at the beginning of his career involved extended stays in New York, USA, and Oxford, UK. He shaped the publishing house for decades in positions of increasing responsibility. Most recently, he served as a member of the Board of Directors until his death. He expanded operations in Basel and founded the international subscription agency Karger Libri as well as offices in Australia, China, Germany, France, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Thailand, and the USA. He was awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Hamburg, Germany, and by the University of Basel, Switzerland, for his merits in the area of medicine.
His excellent business acumen and his interest for his fellow human beings made him a successful and charismatic businessman. He had a great sense of humor and passion for the publishing house, and his office door was always open for everyone who had requests of any kind. His professional and private lives were naturally connected so that it was self-evident that he proudly handed over the publishing house to the next generation a few years ago. As his interest in the publishing business persisted, he regularly spent time in his office at Allschwilerstrasse in Basel until recently. He leaves behind a big void but also a feeling of gratitude for everything he has achieved for his fellow human beings, for his family, for science, and for the publishing house.
His business responsibilities as a member of the Board of Directors will be taken over by other members of the Karger family.
We all have good and honoring memories of tk (as he was affectionately called by his employees). Our sincere condolences go out to his family.
The Management Board of Karger Publishers
Picture of Thomas Karger
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