Title

State Department personal file

Dates

1957–1977

Conditions Governing Access

The papers are open for research.

Ownership & Copyright

Copyright is retained by Henry A. Kissinger for works he has authored and provided during his lifetime to the Yale University Library. After the lifetime of Dr. Kissinger, all intellectual property rights, including without limitation all copyrights, in and to the works authored by Dr. Kissinger pass to Yale University, with the exception of all intellectual property rights, including without limitation all copyrights, motion picture and/or audio rights in and to his books, interviews and any films that will be retained by Dr. Kissinger’s heirs and assigns. Copyright status for collection materials other than those authored by Dr. Kissinger is unknown.

Except for the limited purposes allowed by the Yale University Library Guide to Using Special Collections, exploitation, including without limitation the reproduction, distribution, adaption, or display of Dr. Kissinger’s works protected by the U.S. Copyright Act (Title 17 U.S.C. §101 et seq.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain shall not be commercially exploited without permission of Dr. Kissinger, the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Existence and Location of Originals

Originals of documents marked with an [LC] in the upper right-hand corner are at the Library of Congress.

Existence and Location of Originals

Originals of documents marked with an [Y] in the upper right-hand corner are at the Yale University Library.

Scope and Contents

The State Department personal file consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence and their enclosures maintained by State Department staff while Kissinger served as secretary of state from 1973 to 1977. These correspondence files, personal in nature, were returned to him when he left office because they were not considered official records. The correspondence documents Kissinger’s personal contacts with friends, colleagues and a wider public while in office. Most of the material consists of requests--often for meetings--various acknowledgments and thank you notes, as well as correspondents sharing their writings and papers with Kissinger. Only a small number of the correspondents address foreign affairs in any detail and then usually only briefly. The files also include copies of correspondence with foreign leaders and others, usually short letters of appreciation, with stamps suggesting the originals were handled by the State Department’s Executive Secretariat.