On 6 November 1982, Ahidjo resigned and handed over power to Paul Biya who continued with the assimilation agenda and policies of Ahidjo. In February 1984, he changed the official name of the country back to the Republic of Cameroon from the United Republic of Cameroon – the name that French Cameroon held before its unification with the Southern Cameroons. Biya stated that he had taken the step to affirm Cameroon's political maturity and to demonstrate that the people had overcome their language and cultural barriers. In addition, he suppressed one of the two stars (last memory of the federation) creating a new flag with a single star indicating that the Southern Cameroons had never existed apart from French Cameroon.