Henry A. Kissinger papers, part III

The papers consist of correspondence, memoranda, writings, photographs and other material that document the career of the diplomat, author and foreign policy expert and scholar Henry A. Kissinger, who served as United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and as assistant to the president for national security affairs (national security advisor) from 1969 to 1975. These papers constitute Part III of a three part collection of Kissinger's personal papers. The Part III papers primarily document his career after he worked in government, as an influential author and commentator on international affairs and consultant. The Part III papers also contain material relevant to his years in office and career before government.

There are three major collections (Parts I-III) of Kissinger’s personal papers at the Yale University Library and the Library of Congress. Part I, maintained at the Library of Congress, consists of materials primarily documenting his government career and includes copies of records from his government service. Part II is maintained at both the Library of Congress and Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. Part III, which this finding aid describes, is maintained at Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library, and is comprised of materials mainly documenting Kissinger’s post-government career after 2000.

The papers in Part III primarily document Kissinger’s professional life from 2001 to 2007 although Part III also contains a number of files related to Kissinger’s government service and early career. The three Parts of the Henry A. Kissinger papers complement and overlap each other in numerous ways which the finding aids for each Part describe in greater detail. The Provenance section of this finding aid provides more information about the division of the papers into the three Parts. The Part III papers to a great extent serve as a supplement to the materials found in Part II. The correspondence files continue into the years 2001 to 2007 the series of professional and personal correspondence found in Part II. Likewise, the photographs series extend coverage of his career and social activities into 2006.

For documenting Kissinger’s government service, Part III materials are a significant supplement to Part I and Part II materials and to the official records of Kissinger’s government service found at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Of particular note among the subject files (Series II) are a set of Nixon tapes partial transcripts which recount Kissinger’s conversations captured by the White House taping system from 1971 to 1973. The subject files also include a small number of memoranda of conversation with journalists and business and church leaders from 1971 to 1974. Series IV consists of a substantial, but incomplete, collection of copies of Kissinger’s telephone conversation transcripts from 1969 to 1974 from the Nixon Presidential Library. These invaluable transcripts document virtually every aspect of his foreign policy work for the Nixon administration. A small amount of the correspondence in Series I and a substantial portion of the photographs in Series VII date from Kissinger’s time in office.

In conjunction with Part II, the Part III papers document Kissinger’s career after he left office in 1977. The papers do not include files from his international consulting firm, Kissinger Associates, which he founded in 1982. The papers, however, do provide insight into his dealings with the international business community and foreign governments, primarily through correspondence and photographs. Additional material documents Kissinger’s work as an author and prominent commentator on international affairs, especially in Series II and V, which include research files from his books White House Years (1979), Diplomacy (1994), and Years of Renewal (1999) and an extensive collection of drafts of his syndicated articles. Part III also provides a limited amount of material on Kissinger’s family and social life, mainly through correspondence and photographs.

Part III materials relevant to Kissinger’s youth and early career are very limited and consist primarily of a copy of the final version of his undergraduate thesis at Harvard University and a small number of photographs.