The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

has maintained diplomatic ties to

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

since independence in 1968. Until 1981, US ambassadors served as the contacts to other African countries simultaneously rather than have a separate person just for Equatorial Guinea.

History

In the 19th century, the area of

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...

that now contains the nation of

was under

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

control. The area was known as

Spanish Guinea Spanish Guinea (Spanish: ''Guinea Española'') was a set of insular and continental territories controlled by Spain from 1778 in the Gulf of Guinea and on the Bight of Bonny, in Central Africa. It gained independence in 1968 as Equatorial G ...

and included the small mainland area of

Río Muni Río Muni (called ''Mbini'' in Fang) is the Continental Region (called ''Región Continental'' in Spanish) of Equatorial Guinea, and comprises the mainland geographical region, covering . The name is derived from the Muni River, along which ...

and the island of Fernão do Pó (or Fernando Pó), now named

Bioko Bioko (; historically Fernando Po; bvb, Ëtulá Ëria) is an island off the west coast of Africa and the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea. Its population was 335,048 at the 2015 census and it covers an area of . The island is located of ...

. Rio Muni became a Spanish

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...

in 1885 and a

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

in 1900. In 1926 the island of Bioko and the mainland area of Río Muni were united as the colony of Spanish Guinea. In 1959, the Spanish territory of the Gulf of Guinea was established as a

province of Spain A province in Spain * es, provincias, ; sing. ''provincia'') * Basque (, sing. ''probintzia''. * Catalan (), sing. ''província''. * Galician (), sing. ''provincia''. is a territorial division defined as a collection of municipalities, ...

known as the Spanish Equatorial Region. Local elections were held and representatives elected to the ''

Cortes Generales The Cortes Generales (; en, Spanish Parliament, lit=General Courts) are the bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house), and the Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies meets ...

'' (Spanish parliament). In 1963 limited autonomy was granted to Spanish Guinea and the people were able to elect members to its own legislature. In March 1968, under pressure from Equatorial Guinean nationalists and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, Spain announced that it would grant independence to Equatorial Guinea. A constitutional convention produced an electoral law and draft constitution. In the presence of a UN observer team, a referendum was held on August 11, 1968, and a new constitution was approved. In September 1968, the first president was elected, and independence was granted in October. The United States immediately recognized Equatorial Guinea and moved to establish diplomatic relations.

Albert W. Sherer, Jr. Albert William Sherer Jr. (January 19, 1916 – December 27, 1986) was an American diplomat. Biography In 1938 he received a B.A. from Yale University and an LL.B. in 1941 from Harvard University. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force from 1941 to ...

, the ambassador to

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

, was additionally accredited as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Equatorial Guinea on October 28, 1968, and presented his credentials to the president on November 21. Sherer remained resident at

Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

, Togo. An embassy in Santa Isabel (now

Malabo Malabo ( , ; formerly Santa Isabel) is the capital of Equatorial Guinea and the province of Bioko Norte. It is located on the north coast of the island of Bioko, ( bvb, Etulá, and as ''Fernando Pó'' by the Europeans). In 2018, the city had a p ...

) was opened August 1, 1969, with Albert N. Williams as

chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

''ad interim''. In December 1969 the ambassador to

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

was accredited to Equatorial Guinea while resident in

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

, Cameroon. The embassy in Malabo was closed in 1995 and its functions were transferred to the embassy in Cameroon. The embassy was reopened in 2004.

Ambassadors

Notes

References

United States Department of State: Background Notes on Equatorial Guinea
* 2006

External links

United States Department of State: Chiefs of Mission for Equatorial Guinea

United States Department of State: Equatorial Guinea

United States Embassy in Malabo
{{Ambassadors of the United States

Equatorial Equatorial may refer to something related to: *Earth's equator **the tropics, the Earth's equatorial region **tropical climate *the Celestial equator ** equatorial orbit **equatorial coordinate system ** equatorial mount, of telescopes * equatorial ...

History

Ambassadors

Notes

See also

References

External links