Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1955 - ? (Creation)
Level of description
Series
Extent and medium
597 PDF
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
The PO series contains the memoranda issued by the Private Office of the Secretary General. The Private Office supports the Secretary General and the Deputy Secretary General in all aspects of their work. It is headed by a Director assisted by several Deputy Directors. The first two appointed directors held the title of Private Secretary. Although the Private Office of the Secretary General was established when the post of Secretary General was created at the 1952 Lisbon Ministerial Meeting, the PO reference only appears on the memoranda issued by the Private Office as from 1955. A few numbered memoranda addressed to Permanent Representatives dated 1953 and 1954 have been microfilmed.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Originally this series covered various types of correspondence, from private letters to memoranda addressed to delegations or to other NATO bodies. In the early 1970's a new series (SG) was created to cover personal communications by the Secretary General, and it was decided that PO memoranda would be used for formal documents addressed to Permanent Representatives for information or decision regarding the work of the Council. PO memoranda are also used as cover notes to forward reports or letters from another political or military body.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
The chronological document series created by the Private Office is arranged by year and number. As some of the documents in the series are private letters not proposed for public disclosure, there are gaps in the series.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
NATO publicly disclosed information is available for research and education purposes. Any commercial use requires the written permission of NATO. Please credit the NATO Archives should any documents be used for publication. Guidelines for the proper citation of NATO publicly disclosed information can be found on the NATO Archives website (http://www.nato.int/archives).
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
This chronological document series has been issued in each of the two official languages of NATO, English and French.