Fairly routine files concerning various foreign policy issues, President Ford's trips abroad, visits of heads of foreign governments, and operation of the White House press office. Also includes more substantive briefing materials for Ford's meetings with heads of foreign governments, but these are currently security classified and closed.
Series Description and Container List
Container List
Collection Overview
Scope and Content Note
A veteran press officer in the foreign affairs field, Edward Savage came to the White House press office as a consultant on detail from the State Department. In December 1974 he was named assistant press secretary for foreign affairs, a position he held until his resignation in June 1975. In this capacity Savage met daily with press secretary Ron Nessen to discuss developments in foreign affairs and served as liaison with the foreign press. He worked closely with foreign embassies on details of visits by heads of their governments and in press arrangements when President Ford traveled abroad. Savage's resignation was due at least in part to his frustration over the National Security Council's refusal to allow him a more significant role in foreign policy news guidance.
The Savage files consist of correspondence, memoranda, press releases, transcripts of interviews and testimony, briefing guidance, briefing books, presidential press guidance, printed material, and clippings. These materials relate to various foreign policy issues, President Ford's trips abroad, visits of heads of foreign governments, and the operation of the White House press office. Open materials on presidential trips and visits of foreign leaders include correspondence and memoranda relating to arrangements for the press corps, press releases, public statements, briefing materials, and schedules. The bulk of the more substantive briefing materials, which concern Ford's meetings with foreign officials, are currently security classified and closed to research.
Related Materials (August 1986)
Related materials can be found in the files of press office colleagues and the Ron Nessen papers.
Details
2.8 linear feet (ca. 5,600 pages)
Gerald R. Ford (accession number 77-107)
Access
Open. Some items are temporarily restricted under terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, or under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).
Copyright
Gerald R. Ford donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.
Processed by
Helmi Raaska, August 1986
Biography
Edward J. Savage
1922 - Born, Rochester, New York
1947 - B.A., University of Rochester
1950 - B.S., foreign service, Georgetown University
1950-55 - Foreign Service officer, public affairs, Germany
1956 - Press attache, American Embassy, Colombo, Ceylon
1957-60 - Press officer, State Department
1960-63 - Press attache, American Embassy, Helsinki, Finland
1964-66 - Assistant director, United States Information Agency
1966-69 - Public affairs officer, American Embassy, Beirut, Lebanon
1969-71 - Counselor, press affairs, American Embassy, Saigon, Vietnam
1971-74 - Public affairs adviser, Bureau of European Affairs, State Department
Oct.-Nov. 1974 - Consultant, White House press office
Dec. 1974-June 1975 - Assistant press secretary for foreign affairs, White House press office