>>>For your title:
>>>Germany, Federal Republic of
>>
>>Always wandered what is Germany in this case, when it HAS a republic. Also, what is London if there's a city of it. Etc, etc.
>>
>>For those who expected a political/religious comment from me, I can only say I didn't appoint them, so I can't disappoint them either.
>
>Official name is Federal Republic of Germany, for what I know. Germany was introduced to distinct from the German Democratic Republic in the sences "we are the only and true germans". And for everybody who thinks oldfashioned it includes areas that now belong to Poland, Russia, Austria, France, Belgium, Italy, I guess The Netherlands - whatever was taken since 1914. Namibia, Tanzania without Zanzibar, Togo and so on. They had a lot of those folks in the west, so Federal Republic of Germany was never much used. Infact, if a form asks for country and you enter the Federal Republic, you make a clear statement. :)

I don't understand the wording, "the republic of" - is Germany a republic, or there is something that is a republic and is of Germany - in which case Germany (or any other country when addressed in english) is not a republic, it has one. This is perhaps understandable if we consider the origins, "res publica" - public thing of some people, as in "Res publica Romana" - the public matter of the Romans. But "Republic of Serbia" makes no sense to me. In serbian it is Republika Srbija - Serbia the Republic, an identity, not "one of the other".

I guess it's one more bit where history outweighs the logic. It's my downside that I keep noticing such things, wish I didn't.