Jan Hecker, German Ambassador to China, Dies at 54, Just Weeks After Taking Office

(CNN) – Germany’s ambassador to China, Jan Hecker, died suddenly at age 54, after only a few weeks in office, according to a statement posted on the website of the German embassy in China on Monday.

Hecker had worked as a foreign policy advisor to German Chancellor Angela Merkel before assuming his post as ambassador to Beijing on August 24.

“We are deeply saddened and shocked to learn of the sudden death of the German ambassador to China,” the German Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday. “Our hearts go out to his family, friends and colleagues at this time.”

The circumstances surrounding the diplomat’s death have not been disclosed.

German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and her then foreign policy adviser Jan Hecker on January 15, 2020 in Berlin, Germany.

Hecker took office as Germany’s fourteenth ambassador to China in late August. Before his appointment, he served as Director of the Department of Foreign Policy, Security and Development Policy and had been Merkel’s foreign policy advisor since 2017, the embassy in Beijing said on its official Weibo account.

“I am deeply shocked by the death of Jan Hecker,” Merkel said in a statement Monday. “I am sorry for the loss of a highly esteemed advisor for many years, with deep humanity and outstanding experience. I look back on our cooperation with gratitude and am glad that I have been so closely associated with him over the years. My condolences. for his wife, children and other relatives in his immeasurable pain. “

Entering his term in office, Hecker said that his objectives for the new mission were “to contribute to the stable and long-term development of relations between Germany and China through our work” and to “further strengthen dialogue and partnership.” said the embassy.