Negotiations with the British resulted in an agreement under which the Seychelles became an independent republic within the Commonwealth on June 29th, 1976.
The newly knighted Sir James Mancham became the country’s first President, with René as Prime Minister.
These negotiations also restored the islands of Aldabra, Farquhar, and Des Roches, which had been transferred from Seychelles in November 1965 to form part of the new British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), to Seychelles upon independence
