Until 1991 the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic had been a constituent SSR of the Soviet Union. Upon the breakup of the USSR, the Supreme Soviet of Belarus declared itself independent of the Soviet Union on August 25, 1991, and renamed itself the Republic of Belarus on September 19, 1991. The United States recognized Belarus December 26, 1991. An embassy was established in the capital, Minsk, on January 31, 1992, with John Ford as "Chargé d’Affaires ad interim". Relations between the United States and Belarus have been continuous since that time.