The Archivist of the United States is the head and chief administrator of the

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It ...

(NARA) of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The Archivist is responsible for the supervision and direction of the National Archives. The first Archivist,

R.D.W. Connor Robert Digges Wimberly Connor (September 26, 1878 – February 25, 1950) was an American historian who served as the first state archivist of North Carolina from 1907 to 1921, and later as the first Archivist of the United States from 1934 to 1 ...

, began serving in 1934, when the National Archives was established as an independent federal agency by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

. The Archivists served as subordinate officials of the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

from 1949 until the National Archives and Records Administration became an independent agency again on April 1, 1985. The position was most recently held by David Ferriero, who left office on April 30, 2022. President Joe Biden has named

Colleen Joy Shogan Colleen Joy Shogan is an American author and academic who is the nominee to serve as archivist of the United States. Shogan is also the director of the David M. Rubenstein Center for White House History at the White House Historical Association. ...

as Archivist. Her nomination is currently pending before the Senate.

Background

The Archivist is appointed by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

with the

advice and consent Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something previ ...

of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and is responsible for safeguarding and making available for study all the permanently valuable records of the federal government, including the original Declaration of Independence,

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

and Bill of Rights, which are displayed in the Archives' main building in Washington, D.C. Under Public Law No. 98-497, the Archivist also must maintain custody of state ratifications of amendments to the Constitution and it is the Archivist's duty to issue a certificate proclaiming a particular amendment duly ratified and part of the Constitution if the legislatures of at least three-quarters of the states approve the proposed amendment. The Amendment and its certificate of ratification are then published in the

Federal Register The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on fede ...

and the amendment is included in the

United States Statutes at Large The ''United States Statutes at Large'', commonly referred to as the ''Statutes at Large'' and abbreviated Stat., are an official record of Acts of Congress and concurrent resolutions passed by the United States Congress. Each act and resolut ...

. Before the enactment of that statute in 1984, that duty was vested in the

, and, before the establishment of that Agency in 1949, it formed part of the duties of the United States Secretary of State. In accordance with Title 1, Chapter 2 §106a of the United States Code, the Archivist of the United States also receives the original version of all statutes of the United States, once enacted. Joint Resolutions and Acts of Congress signed into law by the president are delivered by the office of the President to the National Archives. The same happens if a bill becomes law because the president fails to approve or veto it within the constitutionally mandated period of time (ten days, excluding Sundays, and only counted when Congress is in session). If the President vetoes a bill but the presidential veto is overridden, the new law is transmitted to the National Archives not by the office of the President, but by Congress: in this case, the presiding officer of the last House to consider the bill certifies that the presidential objection was overridden, and sends the new law to the Archivist of the United States. In all cases, the office of the Archivist (the National Archives) maintains custody of the original document and (by means of the

Office of the Federal Register The Office of the Federal Register is an office of the United States government within the National Archives and Records Administration. The Office publishes the ''Federal Register'', ''Code of Federal Regulations'', ''Public Papers of the Presid ...

, a division of the National Archives), assigns the new Act of Congress a public law number, provides for its publication as a slip law and for the inclusion of the new statute in the United States Statutes at Large. The actual printing and circulation of the slip law and of the volumes of the

is the responsibility of the

Government Publishing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO; formerly the United States Government Printing Office) is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal government. The office produces and distributes information ...

, headed by the Director of the Government Publishing Office. By means of the Office of the Federal Register, the National Archives also publishes documents of the Executive Branch, such as presidential proclamations and executive orders, retaining custody of the original signed documents. NARA also has many duties regarding the preservation of presidential papers and materials. In all United States presidential elections, the Archivist of the United States also has duties concerning the custody of Electoral College documents, such as certificates of ascertainment declaring the names of the presidential electors chosen in each state, and of the certificates of vote produced by the electors of each state. In practice, these administrative responsibilities are delegated to the Director of the Federal Register.U. S. Electoral College: Roles and Responsibilities
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Archivists of the United States

Notes

References

External links

Official website

AOTUS Blog - from the "Collector in Chief"

Archivists of the United States, 1934 – present
{{DEFAULTSORT:Archivist Of The United States Heads of United States federal agencies American archivists National Archives and Records Administration Constitutional history of the United States