Peter K. Murphy papers

Collection

Identifier: BC-2013-003

Staff Only

Dates

Creation: not before 1947-2021
Creation: Majority of material found within 1976 - 2021

Scope and Contents

The Peter K. Murphy papers contain correspondence, memos and reports, cards, invitations, programs, itineraries, clippings, photographs, and printed materials related to Murphy’s career as a diplomat with the United States Foreign Service and his later work in the private sector. It also contains personal correspondence with family members, friends, and acquaintances. Topics include geopolitical matters, religious issues, current events, and diplomatic and social responsibilities. The collection has particular research significance for United States foreign policy and twentieth-century European political history, especially Monégasque history and the United States’ relationship with the Holy See. Correspondence also includes a reproduction of an account by Murphy’s father, Peter Alfred Murphy, recording his experiences during the Great Depression and World War II, 1915-1946.

Notable correspondents include Albert II, Prince of Monaco; George H. W. Bush; Agostino Casaroli; Raymond L. Flynn; Grace, Princess of Monaco; Martin Jenco; Bernard Law; William F. Murphy; Louis John Nigro; Rainier III, Prince of Monaco; Ronald Reagan; Frank J. Shakespeare; Achille Silvestrini; John A. Volpe; William Albert Wilson; and others.

Subject files include research materials on the history of the United States’ relationship with the Holy See; State Department reports and talking points that summarize political analyses and United States positions; clippings; speeches and eulogies; and a small number of photographs taken at the Vatican in the 1970s-1980s. The Prince Rainier III and Prince Albert II subject files include correspondence, telegrams, clippings, invitations, cards, itineraries, and programs. In addition to correspondence between Murphy, Prince Rainier III, Albert II of Monaco, and palace staff, there is some correspondence between Murphy’s wife Jacqueline and Grace, Princess of Monaco.

Creator

Murphy, Peter K. (1936-) (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials are primarily in English, with some French, German, and Italian.

Restrictions on Access

The collection is open for research. Correspondence with Princes Rainier III and Albert II of Monaco received in the first accrual (2013) is closed until 2038. Correspondence with Prince Albert II of Monaco received in the second accrual (2021) is closed until 2035. In addition, one folder is closed for privacy reasons until 2065.

Restrictions on use

These materials are made available for use in research, teaching and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials.

Biographical note

Peter Kevin Murphy was born September 11, 1936, in Medford, Massachusetts and was raised in Winchester, Massachusetts. Murphy graduated with a BA in English from Boston College in 1959. He served in the United States Army from 1960 to 1961. In 1962, he entered the United States Foreign Service. Over the next thirty years, he served in a variety of positions, including vice consul, consul, consul general, minister counselor, charge d’affaires, and special envoy, at embassies in Paris (1962-1965 and 1972-1975), Buenos Aires (1966-1967), Milan (1967-1972), Nice and Monaco (1975-1977), Genoa (1981-1984), the Holy See (1984-1988), Bonn (1989-1991), and Bucharest (1991-1993). He also worked as the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs in Washington, DC (1977-1980). Murphy married Jacqueline Senouillet in 1965 and they had two sons, Paul and Marc. The Murphys were close friends with the royal family of Monaco during their time in the region and continued their friendship and correspondence after leaving Monaco. Murphy retired from the Foreign Service in 1993 and began working in the private sector. He was a senior advisor for Stanley Associates from 1994 to 1999, and was the president of Festival Management S.A.M. from 1999 to 2004. In 2006 he formed his own company, Marco Research S.A.M. He was made a Knight of the Order of Grimaldi by Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1983 and was decorated with the Grand Cross “Pro Merito Melitensi” by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 2010.

Sources

"Peter Kevin Murphy (1936-)," Biography and Genealogy Master Index. (Accessed April 1, 2020). Gale Document Number: DO1902730023.

Peter K. Murphy, interview by William D. Morgan, April 4, 1994, Frontline Diplomacy, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mfdip.2004mur03.

“Peter K. Murphy,” Sixth World Policy Conference, December 13-15, 2013, accessed December 10, 2014, http://www.worldpolicyconference.com/wp-content/uploads/2014-recovery/pdf/en/guest/murphy_peter.pdf.

Extent

5.2 Linear Feet (9 containers )

Additional Description

Abstract

The papers of diplomat Peter K. Murphy (1936-) consist mainly of correspondence with American, French, German, Italian, and Monégasque politicians, diplomats, and Catholic clergy. The collection also includes subject files relating to United States diplomatic relations with the Holy See and with Monaco. It consists of correspondence, clippings, photographs, and printed materials.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in two series: I. Chronological files and II. Subject files.

Provenance

Gift of Peter K. Murphy, 2013 and 2021.

Processing Information

The collection arrived as Murphy's personal files, with some materials identified solely by date and others by subject or specific correspondent. Any folders with subject or correspondent designations became the "Subject files" series, and the remaining materials became the "Chronological files" series. The chronological files arrived in folders with overlapping date ranges. The processing archivist reordered them chronologically in order to incorporate the second accrual.