The newly- appointed German ambassador to China and foreign policy adviser to Chancellor, Angela Merkel, Jan Hecker, has died at the age of 54, the Federal Foreign office announced.

German ambassador to China, Jan Hecker, abruptly dies just 2 weeks after taking up Beijing post

“It is with deep sadness and dismay that we learned of the sudden death of the German Ambassador to China,” the Federal Foreign Office said in a brief statement on its website.

The circumstances surrounding the diplomat’s sudden death have not been released yet. According to his colleague, Hecker seemed “happy and all right” during an event he hosted at his Beijing home last Friday. “Our thoughts at this moment are with his family and the people who were close to him,” the ministry added, declining to provide further comments.

Hecker reportedly arrived in Beijing on August 1, but as a close confidant to Angela Merkel, he allegedly planned to fly back to Germany and continue working with the chancellor until the end of her term. However, due to a complicated “diplomatic situation” lately, 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,” and ordered him to stay in China.