When did Thomas Friedman begin writing a column for the New York Times?

Thomas Friedman first began writing on the editorial page of the New York Times in 1995. He has worked at the paper since 1981, originally serving as a field reporter in Beirut during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

Before the Times, Friedman worked for United Press International in its London bureau. He later covered the Lebanese civil war in Beiruit before moving to the Times. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting during the 1982 war and was named Jerusalem bureau chief in 1984. In 1988 he won a second Pulitzer and was named to the prestigious post of White House Correspondent for the Times in 1992.