Records on 16 th Economic Summit of Industrialized Nations (Houston, Texas), July 9 - 11, 1990

The materials in FOIA 2003-0371-F are a selective, not necessarily all inclusive, body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related materials. FOIA 2003-0371-F contains materials related to the 16th Economic Summit of Industrialized Nations held at Rice University in Houston, Texas in July 1991. Participants included the "G-7" countries of Canada, France, (West) Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and the United States as well as the European Commission. The Summit served as an informal forum intended to foster discussion among the G-7 countries regarding issues of mutual international concern including the global economy, trade, the environment, narcotics, and terrorism. The first summit was held in 1975 at the invitation of French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in Rambouillet, France; U.S. President Gerald Ford suggested annualizing the meetings (the U.S. hosted the summit the following year in Puerto Rico) and such has been the case since with each country serving as host on a rotating basis. (The European Commission does not host or chair meetings.) (A significant majority of the records in this request have been closed due to national security restrictions. These records will be added to the request if and when they are released.) The White House Office of Records Management (WHORM) Alphabetical Files contain letters from the general public concerning USIA policies, and several notes between Bruce Gelb and President and Mrs. Bush. The WHORM Subject File categories contain correspondence from business leaders and citizens advocating Houston as the host city of the summit and issues to be discussed at the meetings; memoranda; news clippings, and thank-you notes from the President and First Lady to those who planned, executed, and participated in the summit. The Staff and Office Files consist of letters and correspondence, reports, schedule proposals/ schedules/ itineraries, transmittal forms, memoranda, press releases, and newspaper articles. The majority of the materials consist of bids and proposals from the cities of San Antonio and Houston to host the summit and planning/ logistical information related to the execution of the Houston Economic Summit (as well as similar materials from the previously U.S.-hosted summit in Williamsburg, Virginia for comparison and information purposes), such as site and hotel planning/ reservations for delegations, site visits by G-7 representatives, schedule/ itineraries for summit plenary sessions and social events, detailed corporate and individual donor lists, volunteer coordination, corporate sponsorship requests from the Houston Host Committee, invitations to heads of state and country representatives, detailed facility and staffing information from Rice University, and after-action reports detailing lessons learned during the hosting of the event for future use. Similar materials from the "Sherpa" planning meetings held in Key West (FL), San Francisco (CA), and Newport (RI) also include discussion papers and drafts to be discussed among the Heads of State at the summit. In addition, several draft and final copies of the Summit Declaration (or Communiqué) are included along with similar documents from previous summits. Also included are correspondence from business leaders advocating Houston as the site of the summit and thank-you notes from the President and First Lady to the participants and volunteers in the planning and execution of the summit and ancillary activities associated with it (such as the Head of State Spouses' trip to San Antonio with the First Lady, the pre-summit rodeo and bbq at the Astro Arena, and the post-summit 'Thank You' gala held at the University of Houston), and press releases and pool reports. Read less