German ambassador to China died. He had been former adviser to Angela Merkel

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06 September 2021 Jan Hecker, 54 years old German ambassador to China, died suddenly. He had just settled in his office in Beijing a few days ago. The news came overnight from the Berlin Foreign Ministry, without specifying the circumstances. "It is with deep sadness and dismay that we learned of the sudden death of the German ambassador to China. Our thoughts at this moment are with his family and those close to him." Hecker, 54, had arrived in Beijing. in August, after serving as Chancellor Angela Merkel's foreign policy adviser.

A sudden death that greatly affected the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who expressed her pain. "I am deeply shocked by the death of Jan Hecker," she said in a statement released in Berlin. "I mourn the loss of an esteemed advisor of many years, of deep humanity and exceptional competence. I think of our collaboration with gratitude and I am glad to have been linked to him so closely over the years," added the Chancellor. “My deepest condolences go to his wife, children and other relatives in their immeasurable grief.”

Hecker arrived in Beijing on August 24 with his family and had regularly observed the period of quarantine provided for by Chinese regulations.