Germany officially recognized Sierra Leone after it obtained independence in 1961, and opened an embassy in Freetown. Government representatives and a large section of the population in Sierra Leone have a high regard for Germany and relations between the two countries are amicable. The German Embassy in Freetown, which had been closed since 1999, was reopened in 2003 through a chargé d’affaires. Since August 2007 Germany’s diplomatic mission in Sierra Leone has again been headed by an ambassador, residing in Freetown.