294. Editorial Note

Documentation on Presidential appointments to ambassadorships and top positions in the Department of State can be found in several files. Most of the material deals with appointments of specific individuals to specific positions rather than the general process of Presidential appointments. Especially valuable for ambassadorial appointments are the files of President’s Assistant Peter Flanigan, who played a key role in the White House appointment process for ambassadors. (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, White House Special Files, Staff Member and Office Files, Flanigan Files) Flanigan’s material is contained in several folders in boxes 12–14: PMF—Special Ambassador Files; Ambassadors—Broad Memoranda; Ambassadors Miscellaneous; Ruth Farkas; and Special Files. Complementing Flanigan’s files in the Nixon Presidential Materials, though not as rich in relevant material, are several other files, including: 1) NSC Files, Agency Files, Department of State; 2) White House Special Files, Subject Files, Confidential Files, FO 2 (for ambassadorial appointments) and PE 2 (for more general material on appointments); and 3) White House Central Files, Subject Files, EX FO 2 (for ambassadorial appointments). Also very useful are H. R. Haldeman’s diaries, which are available on compact disc. (The Haldeman Diaries: Complete Multimedia Edition)

In addition to the Nixon Presidential Materials, the files of Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs U. Alexis Johnson at the National Archives (RG 59, U. Alexis Johnson Files: Lot 96 D 695) and the papers of Under Secretary of State Elliot Richardson at the Library [Page 665] of Congress provide helpful material on appointments. Johnson’s notes of his telephone conversations during 1969 (“Telcons, personal”) include many conversations regarding appointments both to ambassadorships and to positions in the Department of State. Richardson’s papers include some memoranda (Box 83, “Ambassadorial Assignments”) and a considerable number of “telcons” (Box 104) concerning appointments during 1969 and the first half of 1970. For example, there are notes of more than 30 of Richardson’s telephone conversations concerning the appointment of Ray Cline as Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research and notes of at least 8 of his conversations concerning the appointment of William Macomber as Deputy Under Secretary of State for Administration.