Jan Hecker (15 February 1967 – 5 September 2021) was a German lawyer and diplomat. He was an advisor to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and a judge at the Federal Administrative Court, as well as an adjunct professor at the

European University Viadrina European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) (german: Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)) is a university located at Frankfurt (Oder) in Brandenburg, Germany. It is also known as the University of Frankfurt (Oder). The city is on the ...

. He died shortly after taking office as German ambassador to the People's Republic of China.

Life and education

Hecker attended schools in

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

, Wilhelmshaven and Oslo, Norway, achieving the

abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

in Flensburg in 1986. Hecker, the son of a naval officer, served between 1986 and 1988 as a soldier in

Eutin Eutin () is the district capital of Ostholstein, Eastern Holstein county located in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. As of 2020, the town had some 17,000 inhabitants. History The name Eutin (originally Utin) is of Slavic origin. I ...

. He studied law and political science in Freiburg, Grenoble and

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

from 1988 to 1994, completing with an MA degree in 1994. He passed the second legal state exam in Berlin in 1996, followed by post-graduate studies at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

where he obtained a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

(LLM) degree in 1997. He obtained his doctorate in law in 1997 on the subject of ''European integration as a constitutional problem in France'' at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

Career

From 2000, he taught at the

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

, the Humboldt University Berlin, the Free University Berlin and the . In 2005 he habilitated at the Viadrina on the topic of market-optimising economic supervision. In 2010, Hecker was appointed by the Viadrina as an adjunct professor of public law and European law. He was employed by the law firms Hengeler Mueller and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, but professional curiosity drew him away just two years later. Hecker joined the

Federal Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

at the end of 1999. During his time at the Federal Ministry of the Interior, he was seconded to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution for two years, among other things. In 2011 Hecker was appointed a judge at the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig. In 2015 he was brought to Berlin as an advisor to chancellor Merkel. He became a confidant of Merkel, especially influencing her

foreign policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

. Hecker became ambassador to the People's Republic of China at the end of August 2021. He was expected to continue Merkel's policy of maintaining a balanced, but friendly relationship with the People's Republic of China. He died only a few days after taking office at the age of 54, having just completed the mandatory two weeks

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

quarantine. German foreign minister Heiko Maas has stated that "Due to the circumstances of his death, we have no evidence that Jan Hecker's death is in any way related to his official function as German ambassador in Beijing".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hecker, Jan 1967 births 2021 deaths Ambassadors of Germany to China German diplomats Grenoble Alpes University alumni People from Kiel University of Freiburg alumni University of Göttingen alumni