Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)
The Republic of the Congo () was a sovereign state in Central Africa that was created with the independence of the Belgian Congo in 1960. From 1960 to 1966, the country was often known as "Congo-Léopoldville" (after its capital) in order to distinguish it from its north-western neighbour, also called the Republic of the Congo or Congo-Brazzaville. With the renaming of Léopoldville as Kinshasa on 1 June 1966, it was known as "Congo-Kinshasa" until 1971.
Democratic Republic of the Congo–United Kingdom relations
The United Kingdom established its first Diplomatic mission with the Congo Free State in 1902 when a British Consulate was built in the then capital Boma. A vice-consulate later opened in Léopoldville in 1906. In 1923 Léopoldville was proclaimed the capital of the Belgian Congo and in 1930 the British Consulate in Boma closed and the vice-consulate in Léopoldville became the consulate.