Jan Hecker, the German ambassador to China, died after a few weeks in office. Before he took office, the 54-year-old was a foreign policy advisor to Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The German ambassador to China, Jan Hecker, died at the age of 54. The Foreign Office announced in Berlin on Monday morning. The legal scholar had only taken over the post in August. The circumstances of his death were initially unclear. Before taking up the important post in Beijing, Hecker had worked as a foreign policy advisor to Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU).
“It was with deep sadness and consternation that we learned of the sudden death of the German ambassador to China, Prof. Dr. Jan Hecker,” said the statement from the Foreign Office. “At this moment, our thoughts are with his family and the people who were close to him.” Born in Kiel, he was married and has three children.
Chancellor Merkel is dismayed
Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her dismay at the surprising death of the new German ambassador to China, a former employee of her in the Chancellery. “The death of Jan Hecker shakes me deeply,” she said on Monday morning in a statement circulated in Berlin. “I mourn the loss of a highly valued, long-standing advisor with profound humanity and outstanding expertise. I am grateful to our collaboration and I am glad to have been so closely connected with him over the years.” She added, “My deepest condolences go to his wife, children and loved ones in their immeasurable pain.”
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas was dismayed: “Our country is losing an accomplished diplomat and the Foreign Office is losing an outstanding and valued colleague.”
A senior official from the Beijing Foreign Ministry said, “What sad and shocking news”. China’s Foreign Office spokesman Wang Wenbin told the press: “We are shocked to learn of Ambassador Jan Hecker’s sudden death.” He expressed his condolences to the family.
A leading German company representative in Beijing said that Hecker was still in good spirits at a cultural event in the embassy on Friday. “Tragic. He was such a smart and reserved man. A good listener.”
Before his posting to China, Hecker had been Head of the Foreign, Security and Development Policy Department in the Chancellor’s Office since 2017, making him a close confidante of the Chancellor. He accompanied Merkel on her travels.
The 54-year-old had only recently taken up the important diplomatic post in the Chinese capital and had previously been Merkel’s foreign policy advisor. The circumstances of his death initially remained unclear.
After the general election and the end of Merkel’s chancellorship, according to observers, Hecker should ensure continuity in the difficult relationship with the emerging great power China. Representatives of the Chinese Foreign Ministry had expressly welcomed his appointment and pointed to his closeness to the Chancellor, who is taking a more cautious stance in the growing tensions between Europe and China.
He was the first foreign policy advisor to the Chancellor who had not gone through the classic diplomatic career, and he was considered an outstanding climber. The lawyer and political scientist worked as a judge at the Federal Administrative Court from 2011 to 2015, after having worked in the Ministry of the Interior from 1999 to 2011.
Economics Minister Peter Altmaier, who, as the former head of the Chancellery, had also worked closely with Hecker, called Hecker’s death on Twitter a tragedy and a great loss for everyone who knew him. “His sense of duty, human and professional competence and deep education were outstanding.”
Jan Hecker had only been working in China since August
After arriving in Beijing in August, Hecker and his family first went through the quarantine that is usual in China due to the corona pandemic. Prior to that, he had been Head of the Foreign, Security and Development Policy Department at the Federal Chancellery since 2017, making him a close confidante of the Chancellor.
The lawyer and political scientist worked as a judge at the Federal Administrative Court from 2011 to 2015, after having worked in the Federal Ministry of the Interior from 1999 to 2011.
In 2015, Hecker became head of the newly created coordination staff for refugee policy. During the refugee crisis he was largely responsible for fulfilling the promise made by the Chancellor “We can do it”. He thus moved into the center of power and on Merkel’s side.
After the news of his death, the flags of the embassy in Beijing waved at half-mast. German diplomats did not want to comment on the circumstances of death and referred to the Foreign Office. Hecker’s representative, the envoy Frank Rückert, is now temporarily assuming the role of ambassador.
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