(2014-0087-F) Richard Holbrooke - United States Ambassador to the United Nations

54 folders, approximately 4,766 pages

This collection consists of memoranda, letters, reports, emails, cables and press statements concerning various aspects of European security structures from 1993 through 2000, and include topics such as NATO, the North Atlantic Council, the partnership for Peace (PFP) program, Bosnia and Kosovo, relations with the Russian Federation, and the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).

The materials in FOIA 2014-0087-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related material. Richard Holbrooke served in the Clinton Administration as Ambassador to Germany (1993–1994) and as the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian affairs (1994–1995). In that later role, he spent much of his time focused on the Balkans, and was the chief U.S. negotiator between the parties in the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. His diplomacy was a large factor in the success of the 1995 Dayton Accords, which led to a lasting peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1997, Holbrooke was appointed by the President as a Special Envoy to Cyprus, where he attempted to broker a settlement of the decade’s long dispute over that island between Greece and Turkey. In 1998, Ambassador Holbrooke returned to the Balkans in an attempt to negotiate a cease-fire between Serbs and the ethnic Albanian majority in the ongoing Kosovo conflict. In this instance, Holbrooke’s  diplomacy failed to bring the fighting to a close, and peace was only achieved after NATO warplanes began attacking targets in the Serb capital of Belgrade. Mr. Holbrooke became the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations in 1999 and in this role he negotiated the settlement of a dispute concerning some $900 million in back dues owed to the UN by the United States. From the moment of German reunification in 1990, Ambassador Holbrooke was a vocal supporter and advocate for the expansion of NATO to include the new democracies in Eastern Europe. Records that are responsive to this FOIA include memoranda, letters, reports, emails, cables and press statements concerning various aspects of European security structures including NATO, the North Atlantic Council, the partnership for Peace (PFP) program, Bosnia and Kosovo, relations with the Russian Federation, and the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). The majority of these records related to this FOIA case are closed for national security reasons.

Textual

Records that are responsive to this FOIA request were found in these collection areas—Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files, Clinton Presidential Records: ARMS Emails, Clinton Presidential Records: TRP Emails, and Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management Systems. Staff and Office files were maintained at the folder level by staff members within their individual offices and document all levels of administration activity. The Automated Records Management System (ARMS) is a database that contains email records of the Executive Office of the President. This system maintained unclassified Presidential email. The Tape Restoration Project (TRP) is a database consisting of restored emails from the Automated Records Management System (ARMS) from July 1994 through June of 2000. The TRP is a database that contains email records of the Executive Office of the President. This system maintained unclassified Presidential record email. TRP emails are arranged by topic, there-under by bucket, and there-under chronologically by creation date.

Collection is open to all researchers. Access to Clinton Presidential Records is governed by the Presidential Records Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. Chapter 22, as amended) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552, as amended) and therefore records may be restricted in whole or in part in accordance with legal exemptions.

Documents in this collection that were prepared by officials of the United States government as part of their official duties are in the public domain. Researchers are advised to consult the copyright law of the United States (17 U.S.C. Chapter 1) which governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.

Official records of William Jefferson Clinton’s presidency are housed at the Clinton Presidential Library and administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) under the provisions of the Presidential Records Act (PRA).

Staff Archivist, 2017. Previously restricted materials are added as they are released.

The following is a list of documents and folders processed in response to FOIA 2014-0087-F:
Box 1
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
National Security Council
European Affairs
Brown, Keirn
Cyprus – Holbrooke, 1998 [OA/ID 2195]
National Security Advisor
Lake, Anthony
Holbrooke, Richard [OA/ID 1465]
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files (continued)
National Security Council
Southeast European Affairs
Schulte, Gregory
Holbrooke / Verification Region [OA/ID 2628]
Speechwriting
Widmer, Edward
SRB [Samuel R. Berger] – Holbrooke Toast [October 21, 1998] [OA/ID 2188]
Clinton Presidential Records: Automated Records Management System [Email]
NSC [OA/ID 1200000]
[Holbrooke, NATO, European Security]
[08/11/1997 – 12/30/1998]
[09/09/1999 – 12/20/1999]
[03/22/2000 – 11/01/2000]
Clinton Presidential Records: Tape Restoration Project (TRP) [Email]
NSC [OA/ID 1200000]
[Holbrooke, NATO, European Security]
[10/14/1998 – 09/28/1999]
Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management System
NSC Cables
Jan 1993-Dec 1994 [OA/ID 505000]
[Holbrooke, NATO, European Security]
[07/08/1993 – 05/27/1994]
[06/11/1994 – 09/19/1994]
[09/19/1994 – 11/05/1994]
[11/08/1994 – 12/03/1994]
[12/05/1994 – 12/30/1994]
Box 2
Jan 1995-Dec 1996 [OA/ID 510000]
[Holbrooke, NATO, European Security]
[01/03/1995 – 01/20/1995]
[01/20/1995 – 02/06/1995]
[02/07/1995 – 02/15/1995]
[02/28/1995 – 03/30/1995]
[04/03/1995 – 05/28/1995]
[05/29/1995 – 06/20/1995]
[06/21/1995 – 09/01/1995]
[09/01/1995 – 09/20/1995]
[09/21/1995 – 10/06/1995]
Box 3
[10/06/1995 – 10/18/1995]
[10/18/1995 – 11/17/1995]
Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management System (cont.)
NSC Cables
Jan 1995-Dec 1996 [OA/ID 510000]
[Holbrooke, NATO, European Security]
[11/27/1995 – 11/01/1996]
Jan 1997-Dec 1998 [OA/ID 520000]
[Holbrooke, NATO, European Security]
[02/18/1997 – 05/05/1998]
[05/12/1998 – 07/02/1998]
[07/07/1998 – 12/30/1998]
Jan 1999-Dec 2000 [OA/ID 530000]
[Holbrooke, NATO, European Security]
[01/08/1999 – 08/25/1999]
[09/09/1999 – 12/27/2000]
NSC Email
A1 – Record (Jan 93-Sept 94) [OA/ID 570000]
[Holbrooke, NATO, European Security]
[06/15/1994]
MSMail-Record (Sept 94-Sept 97)
[Holbrooke, NATO, European Security]
[09/29/1994 – 03/02/1995]
Box 4
[03/28/1995 – 06/16/1995]
[06/19/1995 – 08/17/1995]
[08/17/1995 – 08/25/1995]
[08/28/1995]
[08/31/1995 – 09/14/1995]
[09/19/1995 – 09/29/1995]
[10/27/1995 – 11/13/1995]
Box 5
[11/20/1995 – 05/08/1997]
[05/08/1997 – 05/14/1997]
MSMail-Non-Record (Sept 94-Sept 97)
[Holbrooke, NATO, European Security]
[11/16/1994 – 09/22/1995]
[09/27/1995 – 05/14/1997]
Exchange-Record (Sept 97-Jan 01) [OA/ID 620000]
[Holbrooke, NATO, European Security]
[01/15/1998 – 04/29/1998]
[04/29/1998 – 05/05/1998]
[05/06/1998 – 09/17/1998]
[09/18/1998 – 08/23/1999]
[08/24/1999 – 12/03/1999]
[07/19/2000 – 01/05/2001]
Box 6
Exchange-Non-Record (Mar 97-Jan 01) [OA/ID 630000]
[Holbrooke, NATO, European Security]
[07/24/1997 – 04/30/1998]
[04/30/1998 – 05/27/1998]
[06/01/1998 – 07/12/1999]
[07/13/1999 – 01/18/2001]
Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management System
NSC Records Management System
[Holbrooke]
PC0186 PC Meeting on Bosnia-Hercegovina (Readout of Holbrooke Trip), July 19,1996
[OA/ID 3902]