Expand All Collapse All Extent 36 folders, approximately 1,751 pages Summary This collection consists of records related to Ambassador Simons and his work as Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to the Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union. The collection dates from January 1993 to July 1995 and does not cover Simon’s term as Ambassador to Pakistan. The Newly Independent States–or NIS–were defined, by law, as being: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Simons worked with all NIS countries but was heavily involved in working with Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan. Scope and Content Note The materials in FOIA 2022-0861-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related material. This request was specifically for records related to Ambassador Simons and his work as Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to the Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union. This collection ends at the approximate time that Simons was reassigned to Washington, D.C. to prepare for transition to a posting in Pakistan. The collection dates from January 1993 to July 1995 and does not cover Simon’s term as Ambassador to Pakistan. Biographical Note Born into a U.S. diplomatic family Thomas W. Simons, Jr. made foreign service his life’s work. He started working for the United States Department of State in 1963. His first posting was as an escort officer for Duke Ellington’s Orchestra. This was followed by a posting as Secretary of the Delegation and Technical Secretary to the Kennedy round of General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). His first country postings were in the embassy in Warsaw and later in Moscow. In 1990, he was appointed by President George H. W. Bush as Ambassador to Poland. In 1993, Simons was appointed by President Clinton to be Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to the Newly Independent States of the Former Soviet Union. Simons was coordinator until February 1995 when he was informally replaced by Richard Morningstar in preparation for being named Ambassador to Pakistan. Simons was nominated as Ambassador to Pakistan in June 1995 and appointed in December 1995. He served in this role until his retirement August 24, 1998. The Coordinator of U.S. Assistance to the Newly Independent States of the Former Soviet Union was a position authorized by Congress under the Freedom for Russia and Emerging Eurasian Democracies and Open Markets Support Act of 1992, or FREEDOM Support Act. The Newly Independent States–or NIS–were defined in the Freedom Support Act as being Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Initially, the position worked under Strobe Talbott—Ambassador-at-large to the Newly Independent States—and was primarily responsible for bilateral economic assistance and business development. Simons worked with all NIS countries but was heavily involved in working with Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan. Thomas W. Simons, Jr. was born in Crosby, Minnesota in 1938. He attended Institut d’etudes Politiques in Paris, France and Yale University. He received his Master of Arts and Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1963 where he studied Islamic History. Ambassador Simons retired from the U.S. Department of State in 1998 and served for a number of years as a visiting scholar at Harvard University’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. Record Type Textual System of Arrangement Records that are responsive to this FOIA request were found in these collection areas—Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files, and Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management System. Staff and Office files were maintained at the folder level by staff members within their individual offices and document all levels of administration activity. WHORM files are processed at the document level; whereas, Staff and Office files are processed at the folder level, that is, individual documents are not selected and removed from a folder for processing. While this method maintains folder integrity, it frequently results in the incidental processing of documents that are not wholly responsive to the subject area. Access 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. Copyright 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. Provenance 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). Processed by Staff Archivist, 2022. Previously restricted materials are added as they are released. Last Modified Date 2023-04-10 Container List The following is a list of documents and folders processed in response to FOIA 2022-0861-F: Box 1 Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files Counsel’s Office [Appointees] Simons, Thomas Winston [OA/ID CF 1576] Schaffner, Jane Simons, Thomas; Ambassador to Pakistan, Department of State [OA/ID CF 1635] National Security Council Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasian Affairs Gati, Toby Simons, Charter [OA/ID 70] Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files (continued) Potts, Christine Assistance to the NIS [Newly Independent States] - Briefings and Brochures [1] [OA/ID 88] Assistance to the NIS [Newly Independent States] - Briefings and Brochures [2] [OA/ID 88] Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management System NSC Cables Jan 1993-Dec 1994 [OA/ID 505000] [Simons, Ambassador] [01/01/1993-04/30/1993] [05/07/1993-05/29/1993] [06/02/1993-06/29/1993] [07/01/1993-08/12/1993] [09/04/1993-09/30/1993] [10/01/1993-10/15/1993] [10/15/1993-11/02/1993] [Simons, Ambassador Thomas] [01/06/1994-02/26/1994] [03/04/1994-05/27/1994] Box 2 [06/09/1994-07/28/1994] [08/03/1994-09/27/1994] [10/19/1994-11/22/1994] [12/01/1994-12/20/1994] [Simons, Thomas] [02/22/1993-01/26/1994] [01/27/1994-06/02/1994] [06/25/1994-12/21/1994] Jan 1995-Dec 1996 [Simons, Ambassador Thomas] [01/03/1995-01/31/1995] [02/01/1995-02/15/1995] [03/01/1995-04/14/1995] NSC Emails A1-Record (Jan 93-Sept 94) [Simons, Ambassador Thomas] [02/23/1993-01/24/1994] MSMail-Record (Sept 94-Sept 97) [Simons, Ambassador Thomas] [12/01/1994-07/12/1995] MSMail-Non-Record (Sept 94-Sept 97) [Simons, Ambassador Thomas] [12/01/1994-07/13/1995] Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management System (continued) NSC Records Management [Simons, Ambassador Thomas] 9301340 [OA/ID 142] 9303198 [OA/ID 148] 9305857 [OA/ID 155] 9306081 [OA/ID 156] 9307133 [OA/ID 162] 9404346 [OA/ID 198] 9407203 [OA/ID 212] 9501706 [OA/ID 569]