Welcome to the main page of the Textual Archives at the George Bush Presidential Library. Below, you will find several links that will direct you to information to answer your questions about the availability of textual materials, researching textual materials, and requesting access to textual materials through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Although the bulk of our 40,000,000 pages of holdings document the Vice Presidency and Presidency of George Bush (1981-1993), a limited amount of material documenting Mr. Bush's life prior to 1981 is available for research. You will find this material under Finding Aids: Donated Historical Materials.
The George Bush Library Guide to Holdings provides a summary of the materials held in the textual archives. While some material from each office and/or staff member may be available for research, we strongly urge prospective researchers to contact the Bush Library by telephone or email to discuss their research topic and the availability of specific documents before they arrive to conduct research. We also recommend that researchers review the list of completed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to determine whether information on a particular topic is available for research.
If you do not see what you are looking for on our website, please contact us.
Finding Aids
The Finding Aids are guides to researching processed (and available) records at the George Bush Presidential Library.
Memcons / Telcons
President Bush met with and called hundreds of foreign leaders during his four year presidency. A number of Memoranda of Conversations (Memcons) and Telephone Conversations (Telcons) have been declassified. Additional Memcons and Telcons will be added as they are declassified.
View Memoranda of Conversations (Memcons) and Telephone Conversations (Telcons)
NSC Meetings
The National Security Council held seventy-six meetings between February 10, 1989 and December 3, 1992.
NSC Deputies Committee Meetings
The NSC Deputies Committee comprised of selected NSC members met 433 times between February 8, 1989 and January 6, 1993.
National Security Directives
The Bush Administration issued seventy-nine National Security Directives between 1989 and 1993. Unlike National Security Reviews, National Security Directives address specific issues concerning national security and U.S. foreign policy.
National Security Reviews
The Bush Administration conducted thirty National Security Reviews between 1989 and 1993.
National Security Strategy Report
The National Security Strategy Report, often referred to simply as the National Security Strategy (NSS), is a document periodically prepared by the executive branch for Congress. The document is a requirement of the Goldwater-Nichols Act, and broadly describes an administration’s major national security concerns and goals, as well as broad plans for dealing with those concerns. President George H. W. Bush’s administration submitted and published National Security Strategies in 1990, 1991, and 1993.
View 1990 National Security Strategy Report
Lists of Presidential Meetings with Foreign Officials by Year
Please select 1989, 1990, 1991 or 1992 to view the list of meetings. The meetings are arranged by date and include the name and title of the visiting official, the country or organization they represented, the meeting location and the occasion of the visit. Please note that the documents print on legal size paper.
View 1989 Meetings with Foreign Officials
View 1990 Meetings with Foreign Officials
Public Papers
The Public Papers are the collected papers and speeches of President George Bush from the period 20 January 1989 to 19 January 1993. These are also available in eight bound volumes (about 9,000 pages) at many libraries worldwide.
Book a Textual Research Visit
Plan your research visit in advance by reserving time in our dedicated research room. Use our scheduling tool to secure access to original documents, photographs, and archival materials. Our staff is available to assist and ensure you get the most out of your time on site.