Kigali — The former British Ambassador to Rwanda, Susan Hogwood, died Tuesday in Abidjan after a short illness, the High Commission in Kigali announced yesterday.

According to an email forwarded by the Deputy High Commissioner, Jane Baxter, Hogwood died suddenly on Tuesday after spending a short time in a hospital in Abidjan.

"It is with deep regret that we inform friends and colleagues, of the death of Susan Hogwood. Sue died suddenly on Tuesday 16 March shortly after being admitted to hospital in Abidjan," the email reads in part

Hogwood became British Ambassador to Kigali from 2001 to 2004 and later joined the UK Department for International Development (DFID) in Burundi where she worked till she was posted to Abidjan as a Political Officer in September last year.

A brief press statement issued by the British High Commission said Hogwood loved Rwanda and its people.

"Hogwood had great love for Rwanda and its people and was one of the builders of the current warm relationship between Rwanda and the United Kingdom. She will be greatly missed," the statement read

Hogwood has served in Pakistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Japan, Nairobi, Rwanda (on secondment to DFiD) and in Personnel Services, Finance Department, Environment, Science, and Energy Department in London.

She is survived by her elderly mother and former husband, Jonathan Felix Hogwood.

Funeral arrangements are yet to be communicated.