Merkel appoints refugee coordinator as foreign policy adviser

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has named Jan Hecker, her refugee policy coordinator, as her new foreign policy adviser, a government spokeswoman said. Immigration is likely to be a key issue during talks on a new coalition government next week, Reuters reports. Hecker, a former federal judge, took over the newly created position of refugee coordinator in October 2015 after Merkel decided to allow in over a million migrants. He led Germany’s migration treaties with African states and accompanied Merkel on a number of foreign trips focused on migration.