IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference Code: FrSbCOE

Title: Directorate General of Social Cohesion

Date of Creation: 1948

Description Level: sub-fonds of the Administrative Fonds of the Council of Europe

Extent: 189 metres (on 2 October 2009)

Location: Council of Europe.

CONTEXT

Name of Creator: Directorate General of Social Cohesion (DG III)

Administrative History
Since its foundation the Council of Europe has recognised the importance of promoting and protecting rights in the social and economic fields.

In 1950 a Research Department was created (Research Directorate from 1959 onwards), which was partly dedicated to economic and social affairs. It included, among others, an Economic Section, a Social Section and a Refugees' Section. The latter became the Division of Refugees and Over-population in Europe in 1956. In 1962, the Research Directorate was dissolved and a separate Directorate of Economic and Social Affairs was set up. The new Directorate was composed of four divisions and one section: Economic Division, Social Division, Population and Vocational Training Division, Public Health Division, and a Statistics Section.

In 1985, the Economic Division was closed and the name of the Directorate was changed to Directorate of Social and Economic Affairs, which reflected the priority given to social issues.

The activities of the Directorate increasingly focused on social cohesion; in 1998 a specific Social Cohesion Division was created, and in 1999 the Directorate became the Directorate General of Social Cohesion.

The primary task of the Directorate General of Social Cohesion (DG III) is to foster social cohesion and to improve the quality of life in Europe for the genuine enjoyment of fundamental human rights and the respect of human dignity.

Archival History: The sub-fonds was created in 1980.

CONTENT

The sub-fonds Covers activities in the fields of social policy, social security, European Social Charter (until 1989), health, population and demography, migration, Roma and travellers, employment.

It includes parts of the following partial agreements' archives:

• Council of Europe Development Bank
• Partial Agreement in the Social and Public Health Field
• Co-operation Group to Combat Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Drugs (Pompidou Group)
• European Pharmacopoeia
• European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and Healthcare

It also includes holdings from the Brussels Treaty Organisation and the Western European Union (WEO). The Council of Europe inherited the social activities of these bodies in 1959.

ACCESS

Conditions Governing Access: public 30 years after date of publication

Finding Aids
Digitised card catalogue (1949-1990) drawn up by Central Archives. To search in the digitised card catalogue, access WebCAT, enter your search term, then choose 'Card catalogue archives' in the library field before clicking on Search.

DESCRIPTION

Date of Description: compiled on 15/09/2003, updated on 10 January 2020.

IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference Code: FrSbCOE

Title: Private Office of the Secretary General

Creation Date: 1949 –

Description Level: sub-fonds of the Administrative Fonds

Extent: 255 metres (on 20 January 2011)

Location: Council of Europe.

CONTEXT

Name of Creator: Private Office of the Secretary General

Administrative History
The Private Office assists the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General in all activities related to their functions. The Secretary General is responsible for organising and staffing the Private Office.

The Secretary General is the Head of the Secretariat of the Council of Europe. He/She is appointed for a period of five years by the Parliamentary Assembly, which votes on a list of candidates recommended by the Committee of Ministers.

The Secretary General is responsible for drawing up the draft intergovernmental programme and draft budget, which are submitted to the Committee of Ministers for adoption every year.

While the Private Office primarily serves as secretariat to the Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General, it has always had various other organisational functions. For example, it was in charge of the Interpretation and Translation Department, the Archives, the Documents and Mail Offices, as well as Protocol for a temporary period.

Archival History
This sub-fonds was created in the autumn of 1979, when the Archives received the first Private Office files, covering the period from 1949 to 1978. A few files in the series come from the Mail Office and Protocol.

Before the creation of this sub-fonds, some of the Private Office's archival material (such as the first three secretary generals' files) had been placed in files in the archival fonds "Thematic files".

CONTENT

1. Covers activities of the secretaries general and deputy secretaries general.

2. Also includes files on various Council of Europe activities, meetings of directors etc.

Files of Secretaries General

• Smithers (1964-1969)
• Toncic-Sorinj (1969-1974)
• Kahn-Ackermann (1974-1979)
• Karasek (1979-1984)
• Oreja Aguirre (1984-1989)
• Lalumière (1989-1994)
• Tarschys (1994-1999)
• Schwimmer (1999-2004)
• Davis (2004-2009)

Files of Deputy Secretaries General

• Modinos (1962-1968)
• Sforza (1968-1977)
• Adinolfi (1978-1993)
• Leuprecht (1993-1997)
• Krüger (1997-2002)

 ACCESS

Conditions Governing Access: public 30 years after date of publication.

Finding Aids
Digitised card catalogue (1949-1990) drawn up by Central Archives. To search in the digitised card catalogue, access WebCAT, enter your search term, then choose 'Card catalogue archives' in the library field before clicking on Search.

DESCRIPTION

Date of Description: compiled on 12/09/2003, updated on 10 January 2020.