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Catalogue

In accordance with a resolution adopted by the Central Committee on 8 April 1948, the office of Director-General of UNRRA was abolished effective 30 September 1948 and was replaced by the new office of the Administrator for Liquidation. The Controller of UNRRA was appointed to the post and assumed responsibility for administering the remaining organization and for closing its accounts and liquidating its affairs. He served until 31 March 1949, at which time all remaining functions were turned over to the United Nations as provided in an agreement between the two organizations approved by the General Assembly in October 1948 (Doc. A/665, 6 October 1948).

On 1 January 1944, UNRRA hired a 'Political Adviser', in order to 'advise on relations with governments and international organizations'. On 16 January 1944, the title of this office was changed to 'Diplomatic Adviser'. The office was under the immediate supervision of the Director-General, its internal organization consisting of, in addition to the Diplomatic Adviser, one or two Assistant Diplomatic Advisers, one or two Assistants to the Diplomatic Adviser, and a Political Analyst. The Diplomatic Adviser's Office had no special representative attached to the European Regional Office.
In brief, the activities of the Office of the Diplomatic Adviser included the following:
To advise the Director-General and other officials in the Administration on all international political questions and negotiations with governments and to assist in the development of a policy in these fields.
To participate in the preparatory stages of the negotiations with governments relative to the initiation of projects and operations in particular countries, to obtain governmental sanction for exploratory or more permanent operating missions of UNRRA and to assist in the framing of agreements and drawing up of formal international instruments.
To follow developments abroad which might affect the operations of UNRRA.
To maintain continual liaison with the foreign diplomatic representatives in Washington and furnish opportunities for the discussion of the whole range of UNRRA's activities, from general questions of policy to innumerable points of detail.
To maintain liaison with the United States Congress and the State Department on such matters as appropriations, immunities and personnel.
To arrange with governments for the proper means of communications, and to draft or initial all important formal notes and telegrams to heads of states, ministers of foreign affairs, and chiefs of Diplomatic Missions in Washington. All correspondence of a political or diplomatic nature had to be cleared through or coordinated by the Diplomatic Adviser's Office.
To extract contributions from non-invaded countries and to assist the Chairman of the UN Committee of UNRRA with the drafting of cables to foreign governments asking them to implement the pertinent Council Resolutions regarding contributions.
To plan and organize Diplomatic UNRRA Missions to contributing member governments, explain the purpose of the mission to the respective diplomatic representatives in Washington, build up support for the Administration and to keep those countries informed of their duties and obligations to UNRRA.
To assist in the recruitment of qualified international personnel and to secure necessary visas and passports for such personnel.
To advise the Office of Public Information in order to clarify for the public the position of UNRRA.

The Secretariat consisted of a small staff, headed by a Deputy Director-General, whose principal function was to service the UNRRA Council and its committees. It was responsible for arranging and preparing for Council sessions and committee meetings; for providing technical and secretarial services, including drafting, reproduction, translation, and distribution of documents; and for maintaining official membership lists and records and documents of the Council and the committees.
The Secretariat was also intended originally to serve as a general intelligence, liaison and reporting staff for the Director-General, but most of these functions, except for the compilation of the Director-General's reports to the Central Committee, were taken over by other offices of UNRRA.
The Secretariat was abolished effective 15 October 1947 (HQ Adm. Order 103, Supp. 12), its remaining functions being transferred to the Office of the Chief Executive Officer and (documents work) to the Records Section of the Bureau of Administration.