Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO): African Department (Equatorial): Registered...

This series contains the annual policy files created by the African Department (Equatorial) of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Those files which have the prefix QE cover countries in the east of the region. Those files which have the prefix QW cover countries in the west of the region.

References for born-digital records are automatically generated and display a 'Z' after a forward slash, which distinguish them from traditional references allocated to paper and digitised records.

From 2023 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

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After the merger of the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office in 1968, the West African and East African Departments were established to manage the political and economic relations with Eastern and Western countries in central Africa. In 1993 the West African Department and the East African Department merged to form the African Department (Equatorial). In 1994 the Central and Southern Africa Department changed its name to the African Department (Southern). The department also had responsibility for the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) until 1997 when the Overseas Territories Department was established.

The department covered UK political and economic relations with equatorial and surrounding African countries including: Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, Reunion, Liberia, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin, Burundi, Rwanda, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde.

Those countries in the south and north of Africa were covered by the separate departments of Central and South African Department and the Near East and North Africa Department.