In 1965, Britain's self-governing colony in Rhodesia decided to open its own diplomatic mission in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, with Harry Reedman at its head as an accredited representative. Rhodesia intended for this mission to operate independently from Britain's embassy in Lisbon. Whitehall refused to endorse the mission when asked on 9 June, but Rhodesia continued nonetheless, officially confirming Reedman's appointment 17 days later. The British government attempted unsuccessfully to block this unilateral some months afterwards.
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| - Rhodesian mission in Lisbon
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| - In 1965, Britain's self-governing colony in Rhodesia decided to open its own diplomatic mission in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, with Harry Reedman at its head as an accredited representative. Rhodesia intended for this mission to operate independently from Britain's embassy in Lisbon. Whitehall refused to endorse the mission when asked on 9 June, but Rhodesia continued nonetheless, officially confirming Reedman's appointment 17 days later. The British government attempted unsuccessfully to block this unilateral some months afterwards.
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| Date
| - *Rhodesia seeks British endorsement:
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| Caption
| - The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
- Southern Rhodesia's first responsible government took office in 1924.
- Corner of Manica Road and First Street, Salisbury, seen in 1930
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| - *Lisbon appointment
*Reedman appointment
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| Result
| - Independent Rhodesian Mission opens in Lisbon with Reedman at its head, despite Britain's protests; remains until May 1975
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| - A map of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
- A formative shot of politicians in three row of about 12 each, with two more portraits inset
- A bustling city street of early 20th-century colonial appearance.
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| - Federation rhodesia nyasaland.png
- First government of rhodesia.jpg
- Salisbury in 1930.jpg
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| Event Name
| - Rhodesian mission in Lisbon
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| Quote
| - I have a mandate from the Rhodesian government to put our case for independence not only to the people of Portugal, in order to obtain your understanding and support of our just, urgent, and proper claims, but to all those people who are interested in the cause of justice .... The Afro-Asian bloc has made a mockery of the Commonwealth, but it plans to go further and assault not merely Rhodesia but all other civilised states in Africa. Portugal herself has not escaped such vicious treatment .... We stand together in a common cause because of civilisation. I speak wholly for my stand together.
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| - In 1965, Britain's self-governing colony in Rhodesia decided to open its own diplomatic mission in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, with Harry Reedman at its head as an accredited representative. Rhodesia intended for this mission to operate independently from Britain's embassy in Lisbon. Whitehall refused to endorse the mission when asked on 9 June, but Rhodesia continued nonetheless, officially confirming Reedman's appointment 17 days later. The British government attempted unsuccessfully to block this unilateral some months afterwards. The affair came amidst the larger dispute between Whitehall and Salisbury regarding the terms under which Rhodesia could be granted sovereign independence. Rhodesia's mostly white government insisted that statehood should come under the constitution introduced with Britain's approval in 1961, while Whitehall insisted that, per its recent change in policy, there could be no independence before majority rule, and black politicians would have to run the country before it could be fully independent. The Rhodesian government's stance on this matter caused it to become isolated within the Commonwealth of Nations, which from 1964 excluded it from most of its internal bodies, while the Rhodesian military became unofficially embargoed by its established British and American suppliers. Rhodesia's staunch opposition to immediate black rule and its disillusionment regarding Britain propelled it towards Portugal, which governed Angola and Mozambique, territories respectively to the west and east of Rhodesia. Hoping to find new arms suppliers in continental Europe, the Rhodesian government informed Britain of its intent to open an independent mission in Lisbon in June 1965. The legitimacy of this action was disputed. Rhodesia had run itself as a self-governing colony since 1923, but ultimate responsibility for foreign affairs remained with Britain. In their attempt to prove that an independent Lisbon mission was legal, the Rhodesians presented an argument based on previous British legislation conferring on the colonial government the right to appoint its own "diplomatic agents, or consular or trade representatives, in countries which are willing to receive them". The British counter-argued that ultimate purview over Rhodesian foreign affairs still lay with Whitehall, so Rhodesian appointments without prior British assent were illegal. They proposed that Reedman be integrated into the British Embassy in Lisbon as a Rhodesian consul, but Rhodesia refused to accept a lesser post for Reedman than that enjoyed by the independent Rhodesian representatives in Pretoria, South Africa, and Lourenço Marques, Mozambique. Following months of abortive Anglo-Rhodesian talks and unsuccessful attempts by Britain to deter Portugal diplomatically, Reedman travelled to Lisbon in September 1965 to take up his post at the head of an independent Rhodesian mission. The Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which insisted it was neutral regarding Rhodesia, accepted his letter of accreditation, much to Whitehall's consternation, though Lisbon was careful to avoid provoking Britain, omitting the word "diplomatic" from the titles given to both Reedman and his mission. The Rhodesians still regarded themselves as victorious, saying they had set out to gain an independent diplomatic representative in Lisbon, and now had one. Historian J R T Wood writes that this was "Rhodesia's first independent and indeed unilateral veritable straw in the wind." Less than two months after Reedman's investiture, Salisbury went one unilaterally declared its independence from Britain on 11 November 1965.
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