Catalogue description Foreign Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Private Offices: Various Ministers' and Officials' Papers

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Details of FCO 73
Reference: FCO 73
Title: Foreign Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Private Offices: Various Ministers' and Officials' Papers
Description:

This series contains private office papers. The records cover a wide range of subjects dealt with by ministers and senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials.
Date: 1923-2007
Related material:

For earlier Colonial Office private office files see CO 967

For earlier Commonwealth Relations Office and Commonwealth Office private office files see DO 121

For earlier Foreign Office private office files see FO 800

For records produced by the British Commission on Rhodesian Opinion (Pearce Commission) see FCO 92
Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Former reference in its original department: DG file series
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Language: English
Creator:

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1968-

Foreign Office, 1782-1968
Physical description: 2158 file(s)
Access conditions: Open unless otherwise stated
Immediate source of acquisition:

From 2001 Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Accumulation dates: Series began in 1968
Selection and destruction information: The files created in private offices mostly contained copies of papers filed in the appropriate departmental registries, and such files do not normally survive selection review. Only where significant papers were not copied to the department, or where significant manuscript additions were made to copied papers, are the files considered for permanent preservation.
Accruals: This series will accrue in small regular (usually annual) transfers. Transfers may take place out of sequence. For instance, FCO 73/205 was transferred for a special release before FCO 73/159-204); FCO 73/270-360 were transferred before FCO 73/206-269.
Administrative / biographical background:

Collections of unregistered files were held by ministers and senior officials in their private offices for reference purposes. On leaving office, ministers' files were passed to the records section for storage and eventual review. Officials' files were sometimes retained in the office by their successors in post for ease of reference. The following ministers and officials are represented in this series:

  • Michael Stewart, who was Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 1965-1966; First Secretary of State, 1966-1968; and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 1968-1970;
  • Lord Chalfont, Minister of State at the Foreign Office and then the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1964-1970;
  • Fred Mulley, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1967-1969;
  • George Thomson, Minister of State at the Foreign Office, 1964-1966; Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, 1966-1967 and 1969-1970; Minister of State at the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office, 1967-1968; and Minister without Portfolio, 1968-1969;
  • Sir Paul Gore-Booth, Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1965-1969; and Head of the Diplomatic Service, 1968-1969;
  • Sir Con O'Neill, Deputy Under-Secretary of State, 1965-1972, leading the British team negotiating entry to the European Communities;
  • Sir Dennis Greenhill, Permanent Under-Secretary of State and Head of the Diplomatic Service, 1969-1973;
  • Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 1970-1974;
  • Private Office papers relating to the British Commission on Rhodesian opinion (Pearce Commission), 1971-1972;
  • Miles Hudson, Political Secretary to the Foreign Secretary, 1971-1974;
  • Lord Balniel, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1972-1974;
  • Anthony Royle, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 1970-1974;
  • Lord Harlech (William David Ormsby Gore), Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, 1957-1961; Ambassador to Washington, 1961-1965.
  • Anthony Kershaw, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 1970-1973;
  • Lady Tweedsmuir, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1972-1974;
  • James Callaghan, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 1974-1976; then Prime Minister, 1976-1979;
  • David Owen, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1976-1977; then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 1977-1979;
  • Anthony Crosland, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 1976-1977;
  • Frank Judd, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1977-1979;
  • David Stephen, Political Adviser to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 1977-1979;
  • Gladwyn Jebb, held various posts within the Foreign Office including Head of the Reconstruction Department, 1942; Assistant Under-Secretary of State and United Nations Adviser, 1946-1947; Permanent Representative to the United Nations, 1950-1954; Ambassador to France, 1954-1960;
  • Lord Trefgarne, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 1981-1982;
  • Richard Luce, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 1979; Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, 1981; Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 1982-1985;
  • Douglas Hurd, Minister for Europe, 1979-1983; Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, 1984-1985; Home Secretary, 1985-1989; Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 1989-1995;
  • Robin Cook, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 1997-2001;
  • Jack Straw, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 2001-2006.

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