Office of the Historian

UNP files, lot 59 D 237, “Slates”

Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State for United Nations Affairs (Key) to the Deputy Under Secretary of State (Murphy)

confidential
[Washington,] May 11, 1954.
  • Subject:
  • Discussion with Dutch on Van Kleffens’ Candidacy for Ninth GA

You have asked what our records show regarding discussions last fall with the Dutch on Van Kleffens’ candidacy for the Ninth GA. Attached is a summary of the more significant conversations.1

[Page 541]

This summary does not reveal any commitment to the Dutch. However, it does show that we encouraged them, and we believe that they may well have interpreted our remarks as an indication that we would probably support Van Kleffens. In this connection you will note that Ambassador Matthews has just reported to us that the Foreign Office appears confident of our endorsement of Van Kleffens’ candidacy.

We understand that Van Kleffens himself called on you and several others in the Department in December, 1953. However, we have no record of any conversations with him on the Presidency.

I still hope that for the present we can defer any decision as to whom we shall support for the Presidency. I think this is the more important because of strong recommendations from other quarters that we support Prince Wan.

  1. Not attached.↩