Derk Sauer was born on 31 October 1952 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. He was a publicist. He was married to Ellen Verbeek. He died on 31 July 2025 in Zeeland, Netherlands.
In 1970, at the age of 19, he went to Northern Ireland to report on The Troubles for, among others, VPRO radio and De Groene Amsterdammer. In Belfast, he rented a room from the local IRA commander on New Lodge Road, an IRA stronghold.
