COLLECTION FINDING AID



NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR.

PRESIDENTIAL COUNTRY FILES FOR AFRICA, 1974-77




SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Memoranda of the National Security Adviser and National Security Council staff, cable traffic between the State Department and U.S. embassies, and comparable material concerning U.S. relations with countries in Africa. Arranged by name of country, with separate sequences for NSC documents and State Department telegrams.

QUANTITY
3.1 linear feet (ca. 6,200 pages)

DONOR
Gerald R. Ford (accession number 77-118)

ACCESS
Open, but some materials continue to be national security classified and restricted. Access is governed by the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, and National Archives and Records Administration regulations (36 CFR 1256).

COPYRIGHT
Gerald Ford donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.

Prepared by Helmi Raaska, April 2002
[S:\bin\findaid\presidential country files for africa.doc]



INTRODUCTION

The Presidential Country Files for Africa is one of many subcollections that comprise the National Security Adviser Files.

These Presidential Country Files relate to U.S. relations with existing and emerging countries in Africa, and address regional concerns as well as issues specific to individual countries. Materials in the first five folders are filed under “Africa,” and the remainder of the collection is arranged by name of country. Memoranda, briefing papers, and comparable materials created by the National Security Adviser, National Security Council staff, and State Department officials, and telegrams exchanged between the State Department and U.S. embassies are contained in these files.

Scope and Content of the Materials
The folders titled “Africa” contain a series of issues papers prepared for presidential briefings regarding the Sahel and the drought in West Africa, and the situation in Southern Africa (Angola, Mozambique, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Namibia). Other materials concern the Cuban presence in Africa, Secretary Kissinger’s remarks at a dinner with representatives of the Organization of African Unity, correspondence from the Presidents of Zaire and Senegal, and U.S. membership in the African Development Fund.

The prevalent topics in this collection are the move to independence and establishment of new government in many countries, especially Angola, and the effort to bring about majority rule in Southern Africa. Just about every country had an interest or involvement in the events taking place in Angola, Mozambique, Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Namibia. Materials relating to these countries are filed throughout the collection. Materials in the folders for Zaire and Zambia are particularly relevant for research on these two main topics. In addition to the relationship between the U.S. and individual countries, the materials also show U.S. interaction with the former colonial powers and the role of the Organization of African Unity.

Other significant issues are the Ethiopian/Eritrean conflict, the dispute between Algeria and Morocco over Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara), and the Soviet presence in Somalia.

In general, the individual country folders also contain materials relating to military and economic development aid to Africa, appointment of ambassadors to and from various countries, and meetings between U.S. and African officials.

Related Materials (April 2002)
Materials relating to Africa are available in various categories, especially the CO-Countries categories of White House Central Files Subject File. The papers of Stanley Scott, Assistant to the President for Minority Affairs, contain small amounts of materials relating to the Nixon administration’s response to a drought in Africa and his later service as Assistant Administrator for Africa in the Agency for International Development.

Related materials are available in other processed segments of National Security Adviser Files. Researchers can identify the file locations of these materials from PRESNET search reports, which are available upon request. Additional related materials will undoubtedly become available as processing continues on National Security Adviser Files.


CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - Country Files

  • Africa - General (1)-(4)
  • Africa - General: State Department Telegrams
  • Algeria (1)-(2)
  • Algeria - State Department Telegrams:
    From SECSTATE - NODIS
    To SECSTATE - EXDIS
    To SECSTATE - NODIS (1)- (3)
  • Angola (1)-(3)

Box 2 - Country Files

  • Angola (4)-(5)
  • Angola - Presidential Message
  • Angola - State Department Telegrams
  • Benin (formerly Dahomey)
  • Botswana
  • Botswana - State Department Telegrams:
    From SECSTATE - NODIS
    To SECSTATE - EXDIS
    To SECSTATE - NODIS
  • Burundi
  • Cameroon
  • Cape Verde
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • Congo
  • Ethiopia
  • Ethiopia - State Department Telegrams:
    From SECSTATE - EXDIS
    From SECSTATE - NODIS
    To SECSTATE - EXDIS
    To SECSTATE - NODIS
  • Gabon

Box 3 - Country Files

  • Gambia (empty)
  • Ghana
  • Guinea
  • Guinea - State Department Telegrams
  • Guinea Bissau (formerly Portuguese Guinea)
  • Ivory Coast - State Department Telegrams:
    From SECSTATE - EXDIS
    From SECSTATE - NODIS
    To SECSTATE - EXDIS
    To SECSTATE - NODIS
  • Kenya (1)-(2)
  • Kenya - State Department Telegrams:
    From SECSTATE - EXDIS
    From SECSTATE - NODIS
    To SECSTATE - EXDIS
    To SECSTATE - NODIS (1)-(2)
  • Lesotho
  • Liberia
  • Liberia - State Department Telegrams
  • Libya
  • Libya - State Department Telegrams

Box 4 - Country Files

  • Malagasy Republic
  • Malawi
  • Maldives (empty)
  • Mali
  • Mauritania
  • Mauritius
  • Morocco (1)-(3)
  • Morocco - State Department Telegrams:
    From SECSTATE - EXDIS
    From SECSTATE - NODIS
    To SECSTATE - EXDIS
    To SECSTATE – NODIS (1)-(2)
  • Mozambique
  • Mozambique - State Department Telegrams:
    From SECSTATE - NODIS
    To SECSTATE - EXDIS
    To SECSTATE - NODIS
  • Niger

Box 5 - Country Files

  • Nigeria
  • Nigeria - State Department Telegrams:
    From SECSTATE - NODIS
    To SECSTATE - EXDIS
    To SECSTATE - NODIS
  • Rhodesia
  • Rwanda
  • Senegal - State Department Telegrams:
    From SECSTATE - NODIS
    To SECSTATE - EXDIS
    To SECSTATE - NODIS
  • Seychelles
  • Sierra Leone
  • Somalia (1)-(3)
  • Somalia - State Department Telegrams
  • South Africa (1)-(4)

Box 6 - Country Files

  • South Africa - State Department Telegrams:
    From SECSTATE - EXDIS
    From SECSTATE - NODIS
    To SECSTATE - EXDIS
    To SECSTATE - NODIS (1)-(4)
  • Sudan (1)-(2)
  • Sudan - State Department Telegrams
  • Swaziland - State Department Telegrams
  • Tanzania - State Department Telegrams:
    From SECSTATE - EXDIS
    From SECSTATE - NODIS (1)-(2)
    To SECSTATE - EXDIS
    To SECSTATE – NODIS (1)-(4)

Box 7 - Country Files

  • Togo
  • Tunisia
  • Tunisia - State Department Telegrams:
    From SECSTATE - EXDIS
    From SECSTATE - NODIS
    To SECSTATE - EXDIS
    To SECSTATE - NODIS
  • Uganda
  • Uganda - Cable Traffic on Entebbe Raid
  • Upper Volta - State Department Telegrams
  • Zaire (1)-(3)
  • Zaire - State Department Telegrams:
    From SECSTATE - EXDIS
    From SECSTATE - NODIS
    To SECSTATE - EXDIS
    To SECSTATE - NODIS (1)-(6)

Box 8 - Country Files

  • Zambia
  • Zambia - State Department Telegrams:
    From SECSTATE - EXDIS
    From SECSTATE - NODIS (1)-(2)
    To SECSTATE - EXDIS
    To SECSTATE - NODIS (1)-(7)