Professor Alexandre Lyambabaje has retired from the position of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Rwanda (UR) effective May 6, Paul Davenport, The Board Chair of UR says in a statement.

Lyambabaje was appointed as UR- Vice-Chancellor in February last year.

"This is to inform the general public that Professor Alexandre Lyambabaje has resigned from the post of UR Vice Chancellor effective May 6 to begin a well-earned retirement,” read the statement, that added that "On behalf of the University community, I would like to thank him for his service on behalf of UR over the last 14 months,”

In addition, according to the same statement, Prof. Nosa Egiebor was appointed acting Vice-chancellor until a new Vice-Chancellor is appointed.

"I look forward to working with him in his new role and wish him every success as VC,” reads part of the statement signed by Davenport.

Egiebor was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research at UR.

Lyambabaje has previously served as the Executive Secretary of the Inter-University Council of East Africa (IUCEA), a regional body that coordinates inter-university cooperation in East Africa.

The body facilitates the strategic development of member universities and promotes internationally comparable higher education standards and systems for sustainable regional development.

Lyambabaje was born in 1960. He has also served in different capacities in Rwanda’s public sector. Among these, in 1999, he was appointed Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education.

In 2000, he was appointed Minister of Commerce, Tourism Industry, Investments Promotion and Cooperatives, a position he held until 2003.

From April 2014 to 2015, he served as a senior researcher at the University of Rwanda in the College of Medicine and Health Sciences.

He also served as an Associate Professor of Statistics in the Institute of Applied Sciences Ruhengeri among others.