Between 2006 and 2012, he was publisher-editor of German weekly newspaper Der Freitag.
Political career
Schmidt became a member of Alliance '90/The Greens in 1988. From 1996 to 1998, he was a member of the party's federal executive board under the leadership of Gunda Röstel and Jürgen Trittin.
During his time in the European Parliament, Schmidt served as rapporteur on parliamentary resolutions on fair trade and development (2006) as well as on policy coherence for development and the effects of the EU’s exploitation of certain biological natural resources on development in West Africa (2008).