Clark, William P.: Files, 1982-1983

National Security Affairs

Assistant to the President, February 10, 1982-November 17, 1983

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 Some folders may still have withdrawn material due to Freedom of Information Act restrictions. Most frequently withdrawn material is national security classified material, personal privacy, protection of the President, etc.

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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 Multi-National Peacekeeping Force in Lebanon, the bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon, the invasion of Grenada, two G-7 Economic Summits in Versailles, France 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.

Biography

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 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.

Record Type

Textual

Last Modified Date

2024-10-22

WHORM Alpha File

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Clark, William P.: Files, 1982-1983

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