- Jan Hecker, the newly appointed German ambassador to China died Monday morning in Beijing
- The cirumstances of his deasth are kept as a secret so far, and are being investigated by the German Foreign Ministry
- Ambassador Hecker was appointed on August 24, leaving his wife and three children behind when he died today age 54.
- only had only been in the ambassadorial role for a few days. The 54-year-old previously worked as a foreign policy advisor to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
- Ambassador Hecker was only appointed the end of August. He was 54 years old and left his wife and three children.
The German Ambassador to China was one of the closest confidants and national security advisors to departing German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Just a few days ago, he was seen showing solidarity with his Lithuanian colleague.
“It is with deep sadness and dismay that we learned of the sudden death of the German Ambassador to China,” the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.”
“Our thoughts at this moment are with his family and the people who were close to him.”
Germany’s Foreign Office did not divulge the circumstances behind the diplomat’s death.
Mr. Hecker served as an attorney and a judge previously.
He met with US President Biden and Chancellor Merkel at the G7.
Hecker seemed “happy and all right” during an event he hosted at his Beijing home last Friday, one of the guests told news agency Reuters.
While introducing their 14th Ambassador to China, the German embassy said his main goal would be to ensure the “long-term and stable development of Germany-China relations… in the interests of the people of both countries.”
He allegedly planned to fly back to Germany and continue working with the chancellor until the end of her term. However, due to a recently complicated “diplomatic situation,” probably related to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the federal government decided that the “German Embassy in Beijing must ensure that it is highly effective. Germany ordered him to stay in Beijing.