- Born 1967 in Davos, Switzerland.
- Before embarking on a career in the Swiss foreign service in 1997, Mr. Heckner was a research assistant at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, where he earned a Ph.D. in Contemporary History.
- His career with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs began in the Economic and Financial Affairs Division, followed by a one-year posting at the Swiss Embassy in Rome.
- Back in Berne, he worked for a short period on issues regarding the International Geneva.
- From 1999 to 2003, he was a diplomatic desk officer in the FDFA’s Political Affairs Directorate, responsible for co-ordinating bilateral relations with North America and Northern Europe.
- From 2003 to 2007, Mr. Heckner was First Secretary, then Counselor for Political Affairs at the Embassy of Switzerland in Washington, D.C. His duties included U.S. foreign policy on Europe, Eurasia, the Arab world and the Indian Subcontinent. He also followed U.S. security policy and U.S. policy in multilateral institutions. In addition, his duties included the “Iran mandate”, that is, Switzerland’s role in representing U.S. interests in Iran.
- From 2007 to 2010, Mr. Heckner was Office Director of Human Rights Policy of the FDFA. His duties included co-ordinating Switzerland’s human rights policy, preparing and enhancing Switzerland’s bilateral human rights dialogues and defining Switzerland’s multilateral human rights policy positions.
- From 2010 to 2012, Mr. Heckner was Deputy Head of the United Nations and other International Organizations Division. This Division is the Swiss government’s primary interlocutor with the United Nations. Its mission is to develop and conduct a coherent policy in Switzerland’s relations with the United Nations and other international organizations.
- From 2013 to 2015, Ambassador Heckner was Head of the Crisis Management Center. He reported directly to the State Secretary. The Crisis Management Center has the following mission: crisis prevention and management; emergencies affecting Swiss citizens abroad; enhancing the crisis resilience of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs; diplomatic security.
- From September 2015 to 2020, Ambassador to Kenya, with concurrent accreditations to Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda. He served as Permanent Representative to UNON as well.
- Since September 2020, Ambassador to India and Bhutan.
- Mr. Heckner is married with two children.
