Clark, William P.: Files, 1982-1983 –format
Clark, William P.: Files, 1982-1983
Finding Aid Type
White House Staff and Office File Collections
Subtitle/Office
National Security Affairs
Specialization Heading
Assistant to the President, February 10, 1982-November 17, 1983
Disclaimer
This collection is available in whole for research use. Some folders may still have
withdrawn material due to Freedom of Information Act restrictions. Most frequently
withdrawn material is national security classified material, personal privacy,
protection of the President, etc.
Copyright
Some of the archival materials in this collection may be subject to copyright or
other intellectual property restrictions. Users of these materials are advised to
determine the copyright status of any document from which they wish to publish.
Record Type
Textual
Biography
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library • 40 Presidential Drive • Simi Valley, CA 93065 • www.reaganlibrary.gov
Biography
William Patrick Clark was born in Oxnard, California on October 23, 1931. He was a
fourth generation Californian, whose father, grandfather and great-grandfather
were law enforcement officers.
Clark graduated from Villanova Preparatory School near Ojai, California. He enrolled
at Stanford University, but left after a year to study for the Roman Catholic
priesthood at a seminary in New York. Within a few months, Clark decided that the
priesthood was not for him.
Clark returned briefly to Stanford, then attended the University of Santa Clara for
two years. Clark was drafted into the Army in 1953, and served two years in the
Army Counter Intelligence Corps in West Germany. Returning to the United States,
he attended Loyola Night Law School from 1956 to 1958 while working as an
insurance adjuster. He left law school before finishing, but continued to study law
on his own. Clark was admitted to the California Bar in 1959. From 1959 to 1969,
he was a senior partner with the Oxnard-based law firm Clark, Cole and Fairfield.
Clark’s political activity began as the Ventura County chairman for Ronald Reagan’s
1966 gubernatorial campaign. He became the head of the Reagan gubernatorial
transition staff after Reagan won the election. Clark was Governor Reagan’s
Cabinet Secretary until August 1967, when Reagan named him his new Chief of
Staff. In 1969, Reagan appointed Clark a judge on the Superior Court in San Luis
Obispo County. Clark was appointed to the state Court of Appeals in 1971, and the
California Supreme Court in 1973.
Judge Clark joined the Reagan Administration in March 1981 as Deputy Secretary of
State. In February 1982, Reagan appointed him Assistant to the President for
National Security Affairs. Clark held this position until November 1983, when he
replaced the controversial James Watt as Secretary of the Interior. Clark resigned
as Interior Secretary on February 7, 1985.
Clark’s work as a presidential advisor extended beyond his Administration
positions. After leaving the NSC, he continued carrying out foreign trips and
meetings, as an informal representative of the President. He served as chairman of
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library • 40 Presidential Drive • Simi Valley, CA 93065 • www.reaganlibrary.gov
the Task Group on Nuclear Weapons Program Management, as a member of the
Commission on Defense Management (Packard Commission), and as a member of
the Defense Department’s Commission on Integrated Long-Term Strategy.
Domestically, he represented Reagan as a presidential emissary to the chairmen of
the Navajo and Hopi tribes.
From 1985 to 1997, Mr. Clark was a director of Pacific Telesis Group. He later
served as a director of SBC, a director of the New Ireland Fund, Inc., and a member
of the Corporate Development Committee and the Corporate Public Policy and
Environmental Affairs Committee.
Mr. Clark was chief executive officer of Clark Company, and senior counsel to the
San Luis Obispo law firm Clark, Cali and Negranti. He was a counselor to the
standing committee on law and national security of the American Bar Association,
director of the Museum of Flying, Santa Monica, California, and chairman, USA-ROC
(Taiwan) Business Council.
Mr. Clark passed away at his ranch near Shandon, California on August 10, 2013.
Scope and Content Note
The William Clark collection is not particularly deep in terms of the actions and
issues occurring during his time as Assistant to the President for National Security
Affairs. This is due to the nature of the filing system maintained at the National
Security Council during the first Reagan administration. For comprehensive
coverage of Judge Clark’s actions during his time with the National Security
Council, researchers are advised to use the NSC Executive Secretariat filing groups
such as the Subject File, the Country File, etc., and the Assistant to the President
for National Security Affairs Chronological File.
Major foreign security issues happening during Judge Clark’s time at the White
House include: the death of Soviet General Secretary Brezhnev and his
replacement by Andropov; the resignation of Alexander Haig as Secretary of State
and the appointment of George Shultz to the post; the creation of the MultiNational Peacekeeping Force in Lebanon, the bombing of the Marine barracks in
Lebanon, the invasion of Grenada, two G-7 Economic Summits in Versailles, France
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library • 40 Presidential Drive • Simi Valley, CA 93065 • www.reaganlibrary.gov
and Williamsburg, Virginia; ongoing Central American issues involving Nicaragua, El
Salvador; and the Contras; the Falklands War; continuing arms control (INF) talks
with the Soviets; growing anti-nuclear movements in Europe and the United States;
and the Soviet shootdown of Korean Air Flight 007, killing all passengers on board.
The William Clark collection consists of memos, schedules, correspondence,
briefing papers, and cables. It includes materials not only from his service as
Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, but also some of his work
while serving as Deputy Secretary of State and Secretary of Interior. Given the
brevity of the material, the Library has not designated any separate series, but
considers the entire collection a “subject file.” The material is arranged in
alphabetical order by topic and then chronologically.
Last Modified Date
2024-10-22
Box 1
Status Title
OPEN Africa
OPEN Berlin-May 1984 [1982-1983]
OPEN Berlin-May 1984 [February 1984-March 1984]
OPEN Berlin-May 1984
OPEN
Bishops’ Letter: War and Peace [November 1982-February
1983]
OPEN Bishops’ Letter: War and Peace [March 1983-July 1983]
OPEN
Budget Crisis Advertisement: 02/25/1983 Letter to the
500/Bipartisan Appeal
OPEN
Casey, William to William Clark for Talking Points Re
Kirkpatrick [January 1985]
OPEN Central America 1982
OPEN Central America January 1983
OPEN Central America February 1983 (1)(2)
OPEN Central America April 1983-June 1983
OPEN Central America, July 1983-November 1983
OPEN Central America 1984
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library • 40 Presidential Drive • Simi Valley, CA 93065 • www.reaganlibrary.gov
Status Title
OPEN Central American Commission 07/08/1983-07/14/1983
OPEN Central American Commission 07/15/1983-08/08/1983
OPEN
Central American Commission [Report of the National
Bipartisan Commission on Central America, January 1984]
(1)-(3)
Box 2
Status Title
OPEN Central American Speech 04/20/1983
OPEN Central American Speech 04/25/1983
OPEN Central American Speech 04/26/1983 (1)(2)
OPEN Central American Speech 04/27/1983-05/21/1983
OPEN Chemical Warfare
OPEN China
OPEN [Core Staff Review Group, January 1985]
OPEN Cuba 01/09/1982-01/12/1982
OPEN Cuba 01/13/1982
OPEN Cuba 01/18/1982-01/21/1982
OPEN Cuba February 1982-August 1982
OPEN
[Econ: Classified Cover Sheet Taped to Outside of Empty
and Untitled Folder]
OPEN
Exercise Briefing and Documentation, April 1984
(1)-(6)
OPEN Exercise Report, June 1984(2)
OPEN
Fairness Issues: A Briefing Book on Individual Programs
and General Perspectives, 06/01/1982 (Binder) (1)(2)
Box 3
Status Title
OPEN / DIGITIZED
Falklands War (UN/Kirkpatrick/Haig) 05/13/1982-
06/04/1982
OPEN / DIGITIZED Falklands War (UN/Kirkpatrick/Haig) 06/05/1982
OPEN / DIGITIZED
Falklands War (UN/Kirkpatrick/Haig) 06/06/1982-
11/04/1982
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library • 40 Presidential Drive • Simi Valley, CA 93065 • www.reaganlibrary.gov
Status Title
OPEN Grenada
OPEN Haig/Gromyko Meetings 09/23/1981 and 09/28/1981
OPEN Haig/Gromyko Meetings 01/26/1982 10:00am
OPEN Haig/Gromyko Meetings 01/26/1982 2:00pm
OPEN Haig/Gromyko Meetings 06/18/1982-06/19/1982
OPEN / DIGITIZED Haig/Weinberger/Clark (Complaints)
OPEN / DIGITIZED Haig’s Resignation-Classified Documents
OPEN [India]
OPEN
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF): Nitze Meeting
“Walk in the Woods” 07/29/1982-07/31/1982
OPEN
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF): Nitze Meeting
“Walk in the Woods” August 1982
OPEN
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF): Nitze Meeting
“Walk in the Woods” September 1982-October 1982
OPEN
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF): Nitze Meeting
“Walk in the Woods” 02/12/1983 Munich
OPEN
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF): Nitze Meeting
“Walk in The Woods” 02/21/1983
OPEN
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF): Nitze Meeting
“Walk in the Woods” 03/09/1983-08/01/1983
OPEN Ireland
OPEN / DIGITIZED KAL 007-Shootdown [09/01/1983-09/03/1983]
OPEN / DIGITIZED KAL 007-Shootdown [09/04/1983-09/08/1983]
OPEN Law of the Sea (1)-(3
Box 4
Status Title
OPEN Lebanon
OPEN Lebanon: Middle East
OPEN Lenczowski, John Memos
OPEN Letters (Classified) April 1982-March 1983
OPEN Letters (Classified) May 1983
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library • 40 Presidential Drive • Simi Valley, CA 93065 • www.reaganlibrary.gov
Status Title
OPEN [Mission to Europe]
OPEN / DIGITIZED Mitterrand/Clark-6:30pm 10/27/1982: I. Background
OPEN / DIGITIZED Mitterrand/Clark-6:30pm 10/27/1982: II. Background (1)
OPEN / DIGITIZED Mitterrand/Clark-6:30pm 10/27/1982: II. Background (2)
OPEN / DIGITIZED Mitterrand/Clark-6:30pm 10/27/1982: II. Background (3)
OPEN / DIGITIZED Mitterrand/Clark-6:30pm 10/27/1982: II. Background (4)
OPEN / DIGITIZED Mitterrand/Clark-6:30pm 10/27/1982: II. Background (5)
OPEN / DIGITIZED Mitterrand/Clark-6:30pm 10/27/1982: II. Background (6)
OPEN / DIGITIZED Mitterrand/Clark-6:30pm 10/27/1982: Talking Points
OPEN / DIGITIZED Mitterrand/Clark-6:30pm 10/27/1982: Memcon
OPEN / DIGITIZED
Mitterrand/Clark Meeting 03/12/1982
President/Mitterrand/Clark
OPEN MX
OPEN Nepal
OPEN [Nicaragua, US Policy In] Central America (1)-(3)
Box 5
Status Title
OPEN [Nicaragua International Court Of Justice Case]
OPEN Oil Market Situation 1984 (1)-(3)
OPEN
[Oil Stocks and Supply Disruptions-International Energy
Agency Agreement]
OPEN Pope Assassination [Attempt]
OPEN Spain 10/09/1984-10/12/1984 (1)(2)
OPEN [Suriname February 1983-March 1983]
OPEN [Suriname 04/01/1983]
OPEN [Suriname 04/04/1983-04/07/1983]
OPEN [Suriname 04/08/1983-04/18/1983]
OPEN [Suriname 05/02/1983-05/18/1983]
OPEN [Suriname 05/20/1983-07/20/1983]
OPEN [Suriname Cables January 1983]
OPEN [Suriname Cables February 1983-March 1983]
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library • 40 Presidential Drive • Simi Valley, CA 93065 • www.reaganlibrary.gov
Status Title
OPEN [Suriname Cables 04/05/1983-04/12/1983]
OPEN [Suriname Cables 04/13/1983-04/19/1983]
OPEN [Suriname Cables 04/20/1983]
Box 6
Status Title
OPEN [Suriname Cables 04/21/1983-04/22/1983]
OPEN [Suriname Cables 04/23/1983-04/30/1983]
OPEN [Suriname Cables May 1983]
OPEN [Suriname Cables June 1983]
OPEN [Suriname Cables July 1983-September 1983]
OPEN
[Suriname Cables Sent To Vice President Bush 04/11/1983-
04/18/1983]
OPEN
[Suriname Cables Sent To Vice President Bush 04/19/1983-
04/20/1983]
OPEN
[Suriname Cables Sent To Vice President Bush 04/22/1983-
05/10/1983]
OPEN [Suriname, Council for the Liberation Of]
OPEN Suriname Material (Binder): Brazil and Venezuela
OPEN Suriname Material (Binder): Background
OPEN [Suriname “Miscellaneous” Items 03/24/1983-04/08/1983]
OPEN [Suriname “Miscellaneous” Items 04/09/1983-05/31/1983]
OPEN [Suriname “Miscellaneous” Items June 1983-July 1983]
OPEN
[Suriname Situation Room Notes and Checklists,
04/13/1983-05/31/1983]
OPEN
[Suriname Situation Room Notes and Checklists,
06/02/1983-10/06/1983]
OPEN Taiwan [Arms Sales] 01/06/1982-01/09/1982
OPEN Taiwan [Arms Sales] 01/10/1982-01/14/1982
Box 7
Status Title
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library • 40 Presidential Drive • Simi Valley, CA 93065 • www.reaganlibrary.gov
OPEN / DIGITIZED
Trip, President’s European: June 1982 Paris, Versailles,
Bonn, Berlin, London (1)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
Trip, President’s European: June 1982 Paris, Versailles,
Bonn, Berlin, London (2)
OPEN / DIGITIZED Trip to Europe – Presidential Speeches (Binder) (1)
OPEN / DIGITIZED Trip to Europe – Presidential Speeches (Binder) (2)
OPEN
Trip, President’s China 04/22/1984-05/02/1984 (Binder)
(1)-(3)
OPEN Trip, Vienna May 1984 (1)(2)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
[Trip:] Secretary Clark’s Visit 05/10/1984-05/18/1984
Berlin, Vienna, Munich, and London (Binder) (1)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
[Trip:] Secretary Clark’s Visit 05/10/1984-05/18/1984
Berlin, Vienna, Munich, and London (Binder) (2)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
[Trip:] Secretary Clark’s Visit 05/10/1984-05/18/1984
Berlin, Vienna, Munich, and London (Binder) (3)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
[Trip:] Secretary Clark’s Visit 05/10/1984-05/18/1984
Berlin, Vienna, Munich, and London (Clark Binder) (1)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
[Trip:] Secretary Clark’s Visit 05/10/1984-05/18/1984
Berlin, Vienna, Munich, and London (Clark Binder) (2)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
[Trip:] Secretary Clark’s Visit 05/10/1984-05/18/1984
Berlin, Vienna, Munich, and London (Clark Binder) (3)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
Trip to Europe, President’s: Ireland, United Kingdom, and
Normandy 06/01/1984- 06/10/1984 (1)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
Trip to Europe, President’s: Ireland, United Kingdom, and
Normandy 06/01/1984- 06/10/1984 (2)
Box 8
Status Title
OPEN / DIGITIZED
Trip to Europe, President’s: Ireland, United Kingdom, and
Normandy 06/01/1984- 06/10/1984 (3)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
Trip to Europe, President’s: Ireland, United Kingdom, and
Normandy 06/01/1984- 06/10/1984 (4)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
Trip to Europe, President’s: Ireland, United Kingdom, and
Normandy 06/01/1984- 06/10/1984 (5)
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library • 40 Presidential Drive • Simi Valley, CA 93065 • www.reaganlibrary.gov
Status Title
OPEN / DIGITIZED
Trip to Europe, President’s: London Economic Summit
06/07/1984-06/09/1984 (Binder) (1)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
Trip to Europe, President’s: London Economic Summit
06/07/1984-06/09/1984 (Binder) (2)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
Trip to Europe, President’s: London Economic Summit
06/07/1984-06/09/1984 (Binder) (3)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
Trip to Europe, President’s: London Economic Summit
06/07/1984-06/09/1984 (Binder) (4)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
US-Soviet Relations Papers Working File: Contains
Originals (1)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
US-Soviet Relations Papers Working File: Contains
Originals (2)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
US-Soviet Relations Papers Working File: Contains
Originals (3)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
US-Soviet Relations Papers Working File: Contains
Originals (4)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
US-Soviet Relations Papers Working File: Contains
Originals (5)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
US-Soviet Relations Papers Working File: Contains
Originals (6)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
US-Soviet Relations Papers Working File: Contains
Originals (7)
Box 9
Status Title
OPEN / DIGITIZED
US-Soviet Relations Papers Working File: Contains
Originals (8)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
US-Soviet Relations Papers Working File: Contains
Originals (9)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
US-Soviet Relations Papers Working File: Contains
Originals (10)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
US-Soviet Relations Papers Working File: Contains
Originals (11)
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library • 40 Presidential Drive • Simi Valley, CA 93065 • www.reaganlibrary.gov
Status Title
OPEN / DIGITIZED
US-Soviet Relations Papers Working File: Contains
Originals (12)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
US-Soviet Relations Papers Working File: Contains
Originals (13)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
US-Soviet Relations Papers Working File: Contains
Originals (14)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
US-Soviet Relations Papers Working File: Contains
Originals (15)
OPEN / DIGITIZED
US-Soviet Relations Papers Working File: Contains
Originals (16)
OPEN Vatican: Establishing Diplomatic Relations
OPEN Weekly Update for the President, 12/21/1981 (Binder)
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library • 40 Presidential Drive • Simi Valley, CA 93065 • www.reaganlibrary.gov
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