The U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) was an

independent agency of the United States government Independent agencies of the United States federal government are agencies that exist outside the federal executive departments (those headed by a Cabinet secretary) and the Executive Office of the President. In a narrower sense, the term refers ...

that existed from 1961 to 1999. Its mission was to strengthen United States national security by "formulating, advocating, negotiating, implementing and verifying effective arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament policies, strategies, and agreements." In so doing, ACDA ensured that arms control was fully integrated into the development and conduct of United States national security policy. ACDA also conducted, supported, and coordinated research for arms control and disarmament policy formulation, prepared for and managed U.S. participation in international arms control and disarmament negotiations, and prepared, operated, and directed U.S. participation in international arms control and disarmament systems.

1961 creation

The Arms Control and Disarmament Agency was established by the Arms Control and Disarmament Act, . The bill was drafted by presidential adviser

John J. McCloy John Jay McCloy (March 31, 1895 – March 11, 1989) was an American lawyer, diplomat, banker, and a presidential advisor. He served as Assistant Secretary of War during World War II under Henry Stimson, helping deal with issues such as German sa ...

. Its predecessor was the

U.S. Disarmament Administration 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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, part of the U.S. Department of State (1960–61).

Early mission

Arms Control and Disarmament Agrements 1977 Edition cover

In the 1970s emphasis of the agency was placed upon gaining an understanding of the strategic weapons capabilities of the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China. The electronic reconnaissance capability of the United States was expanded through federal agency research and private contract research, utilizing radio frequency as well as optical technologies. The theory of this mission was that a clearer understanding of other nations' strategic capabilities was an important initial step in prevention of nuclear war.

1997 reorganization

In 1997, the

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over Re ...

announced the partial integration of ACDA with the State Department as part of the reinvention of the agencies which implement the nation’s foreign policy. The ACDA Director served as both the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs and a Senior Adviser to the President and the Secretary of State for Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament. He communicated with the President through the Secretary of State. In his capacity as senior advisor to the president, the Under Secretary attended and participated, at the direction of the president, in

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

(NSC) and subordinate meetings pertaining to arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament and had the right to communicate, through the Secretary of State, with the President and members of the NSC on arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament concerns.

1999 end

As of April 1, 1999, ACDA was abolished and its functions merged into the Department of State. This was done pursuant to . In particular, ACDA's four Bureaus were merged with the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs to form three new Bureaus: Political-Military Affairs, Bureau of Arms Control, and

Bureau of Nonproliferation The Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN) is a bureau within the United States Department of State responsible for managing a broad range of nonproliferation and counterproliferation functions. The bureau leads U.S. efforts ...

. The functions of the ACDA Director were replaced by the office of the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs and by the office of the Senior Advisor to the President and the Secretary of State for Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament. Additional reorganizations of the arms control function in those bureaus took place in subsequent years.

List of directors

US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Distinguished Honor Award

The directors of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency were: * William Chapman Foster (1961–68) *

Gerard C. Smith Gerard Coad Smith (May 4, 1914 – July 4, 1994) was an American attorney and defense expert who served as the chief U.S. delegate to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) in 1969 and the first U.S. Chairman of the Trilateral Commission. ...

(1969–73) *

Fred Iklé Fred Charles Iklé (August 21, 1924 – November 10, 2011) was a Swiss-American sociologist and defense expert. Iklé's expertise was in defense and foreign policy, nuclear strategy, and the role of technology in the emerging international order. ...

(1973–77) *

Paul Warnke Paul Culliton Warnke (January 31, 1920 – October 31, 2001) was an American diplomat. Early life and education Warnke was born in Webster, Massachusetts, but spent most of his childhood in Marlborough, Massachusetts, where his father managed ...

(1977–78) *

George M. Seignious Lieutenant General George Marion Seignious U.S. Army (June 21, 1921 – July 3, 2005) was a distinguished military leader, diplomat and college president. Biography General Seignious was born and raised in Orangeburg, South Carolina but attend ...

(1978–80) * Ralph Earle (1980–81) *

Eugene V. Rostow Eugene Victor Rostow (August 25, 1913 – November 25, 2002) was an American legal scholar and public servant. He was Dean of Yale Law School and served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs under President Lyndon B. Johnson. In the ...

(1981–83) *

Kenneth Adelman Kenneth Lee Adelman (born June 9, 1946) is an American diplomat, political writer, policy analyst and William Shakespeare scholar. Adelman has been a member of the board of directors of the global data collection company RIWI Corp. since June 2016 ...

(1983–87) *

William F. Burns William Francis Burns (June 23, 1932 – June 5, 2021) was an American Army major general who later served as the Director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency from 1988 to 1989 under President Ronald Reagan. He graduated from La Salle Uni ...

(1988–89) *

Ronald F. Lehman Ambassador Ronald Frank Lehman II (born March 25, 1946, in Napa, California) is currently Director of the Center for Global Security Research at the United States Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He is also Chair of th ...

(1989–93) *

John D. Holum John D. Holum (born December 4, 1940) was Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security under Bill Clinton. Biography John D. Holum was born on December 4, 1940, i ...

(1993–99)

References

External links

* * * * ACDA Mission Statemen

* White House Statements about 1997 Reorganizatio

* Fiscal Year 2000 Budge

*
Records of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
– National Archives {{Authority control Arms control 1961 establishments in the United States 1999 disestablishments in the United States Defunct independent agencies of the United States government Military disbanding and disarmament United States Department of State