Sir Christopher Meyer, a former U.K. ambassador to the U.S., has died after suffering a stroke. He had been stationed in Washington, D.C. from 1997 to 2003.

Meyer, 78, had suffered the stroke in the French Alps, The Guardian reported. His wife, Catherine, had been with him at the time of his death, the paper said.

In a July 29 post on Twitter, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was "saddened to hear of the death of Sir Christopher Meyer. He was a dedicated public servant throughout his career and devoted his life to international diplomacy."

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab also took to Twitter to comment on the passing of Meyer.

"He was a formidable diplomat, who strengthened the UK/US special relationship, and a man of great acumen, wit and wisdom," Raab said.

The current U.K. ambassador to the U.S., Dame Karen Pierce said on Twitter that Mayer "was a great diplomat and a great character. All our thoughts are with Catherine and his family."

'The dream job for a diplomat'

During an interview this year on GBNews, Meyer reflected on the beginning of his six years as ambassador to the United States in 1997.

“It was the dream job for a diplomat because you had this sense that you were in the world’s only superpower as it was at that time,” he said.

He recalled being warned that his time in Washington, D.C. would be tedious because the economy was then good and the country was not facing major problems. But then the Monica Lewinsky scandal had rocked the presidency of Bill Clinton "and from then on it was non-stop action, from excitement to tragedy, you name it, 9/11, all that stuff," Meyer said.

Representing the monarchy

Being ambassador was not the soft, cushy job that some people thought it was, he said. Meyer stressed that U.K. ambassadors were responsible for representing not only the U.K. government, but more importantly Queen Elizabeth. Americans tended to have a glamorized view of the British monarchy "so you had to live up to this," he said.

The former ambassador said Clinton had been very cold and quiet at times. Meyer said that Clinton had shown "no particular sympathy for the United Kingdom" but then-Prime Minister Tony Blair had succeeded in establishing a "political and personal relationship" with the president "that was very, very strong."

Writing for the BBC, Peter Bowes said Meyer had been "quick-witted and an ebullient communicator" with a "penchant for wearing colourful socks during his public life."

An ambassador's memoirs

In 2005, Meyer published his memoirs "DC Confidential: The Controversial Memoirs Of Britain's Ambassador to the US At The Time of 9/11 And The Iraq War." In a review of the Book published in The Independent, Steve Richards said Meyer wrote with a "lofty disdain" of elected officials and "shows no comprehension of the complex demands facing the politicians he treats with ridicule."

Richards did credit Meyer with showing how Blair had become too heavily influenced by George W. Bush at the start of the war in Iraq.
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