Editing Helmut Schmidt (section)

== Life after politics ==
[[File:Helmut Schmidt Bundeskanzler - Moscow 11 dec 2013 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Schmidt in December 2013]]
In 1982, along with his friend [[Gerald Ford]], he co-founded the annual [[AEI World Forum]].<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Theakston|editor1-first=Kevin|editor2-last=de Vries|editor2-first=Jouke|title=Former Leaders in Modern Democracies. Political Sunsets |date=2012 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan London |location=Basingstoke|isbn=978-0-230-31447-4|page=24 |doi=10.1057/9781137265319}}</ref> The following year he joined the nationwide weekly ''[[Die Zeit]]'' newspaper as co-publisher, also acting as its director from 1985 to 1989.<ref name="Lebendiges Museum Online"/><ref>{{cite web|last1=Sommer|first1=Theo|title=Helmut Schmidt: A Life Lived for Germany|url=http://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2015-11/helmut-schmidt-obituary-english|work=Die Zeit|access-date=2015-11-10 |date=2015-11-10}}</ref> In 1985, he became managing director. With [[Takeo Fukuda]] he founded the [[Inter Action Council]]s in 1983. He retired from the Bundestag in 1986. In December 1986, he was one of the founders of the committee supporting the [[Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union|EMU]] and the creation of the [[European Central Bank]].<ref name="Lebendiges Museum Online"/>

Contrary to the line of his party, Schmidt was a determined opponent of [[Turkish accession|Turkey's bid to join the EU]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Schmidt|first1=Helmut|title=Einbinden, nicht aufnehmen|url=http://www.zeit.de/politik/leiter_schmidt|work=Die Zeit|access-date=2015-11-11|language=de|date=2002-12-05}}</ref> He also opposed phasing out [[Nuclear power|nuclear energy]],<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2008-07-23|title=Helmut Schmidt für Atomkraft|url=https://www.zeit.de/online/2008/30/schmidt-atomausstieg-spd|journal=Die Zeit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080727025353/http://www.zeit.de/online/2008/30/schmidt-atomausstieg-spd|archive-date=2008-07-27|access-date=2020-02-08}}</ref> something that the Red-Green coalition of [[Gerhard Schröder]] supported.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Braunthal|first=Gerard|date=1999-01-01|title=The 1998 German Election: Gerhard Schröder and the Politics of the New Middle|journal=German Politics and Society|volume=17|issue=1|pages=32–54 |doi=10.3167/104503099782486897|issn=1045-0300}}</ref> In 2007, Schmidt described the climate debate as "hysterically overheated".<ref>{{cite news|author1=Kai Diekmann and Hans-Jörg Vehlewald |title=Der G8-Gipfel ist nur noch ein Spektakel|url=http://www.bild.de/news/2007/ex-bundeskanzler-interview-1936410.bild.html|access-date=2015-11-01 |work=[[Bild]] |date=2007-06-03}}</ref> When asked about social media, Schmidt said he perceived the internet as "threatening". He was particularly concerned about the superficiality of communication on the web.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.netzwelt.de/news/91902-helmut-schmidt-ueber-neue-medien.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403153244/http://www.netzwelt.de/news/91902-helmut-schmidt-ueber-neue-medien.html |archive-date=2013-04-03 |title=Helmut Schmidt über neue Medien |language=de |work=netzwelt |access-date=2012-04-19 |quote='Drei Dinge fallen mir dazu ein. Erstens: Das Internet gehört kaum zu meiner Welt. Zweitens: Ich empfinde es als bedrohlich. Und drittens: Es hat Zukunft.' Er beklagt insbesondere die Oberflächlichkeit der Kommunikation im Netz.}}</ref>

Schmidt was highly critical of allowing immigration from outside of Europe, believing that people from these cultures would not integrate well. He said in a 2004 interview with [[Hamburger Abendblatt]] that "a multicultural society can function peacefully only under a strong authoritarian state like Singapore, the cultures there all speak English and the political system is based on authority."<ref>{{Cite news |title=Wieviel Anatolien verträgt Europa? |url=http://www.abendblatt.de/politik/deutschland/article290699/Wieviel-Anatolien-vertraegt-Europa.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517032658/http://www.abendblatt.de/politik/deutschland/article290699/Wieviel-Anatolien-vertraegt-Europa.html |archive-date=17 May 2013 |access-date=2025-01-01 |work=Hamburger Abendblatt |language=de |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2005, he spoke out against attempts to remedy Germany's aging population with more immigration: "Immigration of people from East of Anatolia or from Subsaharan Africa does not solve the problem, it only creates a much bigger problem."<ref>{{Cite web |last=NACHRICHTEN |first=n-tv |title=Alt-Kanzler gegen Zuwanderung |url=https://www.n-tv.de/politik/Alt-Kanzler-gegen-Zuwanderung-article152129.html |access-date=2025-01-01 |website=n-tv.de |language=de}}</ref> In a 2010 interview with [[Sandra Maischberger]], he said that "Immigration from foreign civilizations creates more problems than it can bring us in terms of benefits on the labor market. Immigration from Europe is no problem, the problem starts from somewhat more eastern regions. These are different cultures, not because of their different genes or ancestry, but because of the way they were raised."<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D5kr9lowTw |title=Helmut Schmidt 2010 |date=2015-11-12 |last=tagesschau |access-date=2025-01-01 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

On 16 May 2014, Schmidt said the [[Russo-Ukrainian War]] was dangerous, because, "Europe, the Americans and also Russia are behaving in a way that [[Christopher Clark]] described in his book ''The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914'' that's very much worth reading, as the beginning of World War I: like sleepwalkers."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-16/ukraine-crisis-resembles-europe-1914-says-helmut-schmidt.html |title=Ukraine Crisis Echoes 1914, German Ex-Leader Schmidt Says |work=Bloomberg |date=2014-05-16}}</ref> Clark later disputed comparisons between the Russo-Ukrainian War and World War I, saying in 2022, "The first world war began in an incredibly complex, around-the-houses way. Whereas in the case of the invasion of Ukraine, in 2014 and this year, it's quite clearly a case of the breach of the peace by just one power."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Oltermann |first=Philip |date=2022-06-26 |title=Don't compare Ukraine invasion to first world war, says 'Sleepwalkers' historian |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/26/historian-says-dont-compare-ukraine-invasion-with-his-book-on-first-world-war |access-date=2022-07-06}}</ref>

Schmidt was the author of numerous books on his political life, on foreign policy, and [[political ethics]]. He made appearances in numerous television talk shows, and remained one of the most renowned political publicists in Germany until his death.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite web |title=Helmut Schmidt, former West German chancellor, dies aged 96 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/10/helmut-schmidt-former-west-german-chancellor-dies-aged-96 |work=The Guardian |access-date=2015-11-10 |date=2015-11-10}}</ref>

In his later years, Schmidt gained a positive reputation as an [[wikt:elder statesman|elder statesman]] across party lines in Germany.<ref name="Guardian"/>