In 1915 during The Great War, Belgian troops from Zaire drove the small number of Germans out of Burundi and took control of the country.

After World War I Germany lost its overseas possessions and the League of Nations mandated Burundi and its northern neighbor, Rwanda, to Belgium as the territory of Ruanda-Urundi in 1923.

Following World War II, Ruanda-Urundi became a United Nations Trust Territory with Belgium as the administrative authority.

In June 1962 the UN General Assembly terminated the Belgian trusteeship and granted full independence to Rwanda and Burundi.

The U.S. Embassy in the capital Usumbura (now Bujumbura) was established on July 1, 1962, with Herbert V. Olds as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim.