Posener is the son of the German architectural historian Julius Posener who emigrated in 1933, and his English wife. The family returned to Berlin in 1961.

1949 born in London, England
1956 – 1960 primary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya
1960 – 1969 secondary school in Ipswich, England, and (West) Berlin
1970 – 1977 studied English and German literature in Berlin and Bochum
1977 – 1990 taught English and German at high schools in
Berlin
1990 – 2000 freelance writer and translator
2000 joins staff of “Die Welt”
from 2003 chief commentator, “Die Welt”
from 2004 chief commentator, “Welt am Sonntag“
from 2008 correspondent at large for the “Welt” group

Posener is also an influential blogger for “Starke Meinungen” (Strong Opinions).

Posener has written several books for German publishers, among them biographies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Josef Stalin, Elvis Presley and the Virgin Mary.

His latest books are “Imperium der Zukunft – Warum Europa Weltmacht werden muss” (Empire of the Future – Why Europe must become a World Power), 2007; “Benedikts Kreuzzug – Der Kampf des Vatikans gegen die moderne Gesellschaft” (Benedict’s Crusade. How the Vatican fights against modern society), 2009; and “John F. Kennedy”, 2013.

Alan Posener is married, with one daughter. He lives in Berlin.