VIP Letters, 1960-2008 | Robert and Elizabeth Dole Archive and Special Collections

By Erin Wolfe, Damien Gilbert, Julia Stanislav

Collection Overview

Title: VIP Letters, 1960-2008

Predominant Dates:1960-2004

ID: 01/020

Extent: 593.0 Letters

Arrangement: The letters are arranged alphabetically by the sender's last name. Multiple letters from the same sender are arranged chronologically.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The VIP Letters collection consists of letters that were removed from the Dole papers. With few exceptions, the letters were written to Senator Dole from notable public figures, including U.S. Presidents (about 66% of the letters), Congresspeople, foreign officials, and other distinguished persons. The contents of the letters covers a wide range of topics, including current events, personal notes, responses to letters from Dole, and more.

Search the full text of all scanned VIP letters:

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1: A-B],
[Box 2: George H.W. Bush],
[Box 3: C],
[Box 4: Bill Clinton],
[Box 5: D-E],
[Box 6: F-K],
[Box 7: Gerald Ford],
[Box 8: L],
[Box 9: M-Q],
[Box 10: Richard Nixon],
[Box 11: R],
[Box 12: Ronald Reagan],
[Box 13: S-Z],
[All]

Box 13: S-Z

Item 1: Arnold Schwarzenegger, 8/2/2005: Letter from Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger to Senator Bob Dole thanking him for a copy of One Soldier's Story.
Available here: c020_013_000_001 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 2: Hugh Scott to Bob Dole, 7/20/1973: Letter from Senate Minority Leader, Senator Hugh Scott to Senator Bob Dole wishing him a happy birthday.
Available here: c020_013_000_002 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 3: Keith Sebelius to Bob Dole, 2/21/1980: Letter from Representative from Kansas Keith Sebelius to Senator Bob Dole congratulating him on a splendid job in the Iowa debate.
Available here: c020_013_000_003 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 4: Sargent Shriver to Bob Dole, 10/14/1992: Letter from American Statesman Sargent Shriver to Senator Bob Dole congratulating him on making the cover of "Jobs Corps in Action".
Available here: c020_013_000_004 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 5: Alan Simpson to Bob Dole, 3/20/1979: Letter from Senator from Wyoming Alan Simpson to Senator Bob Dole complimenting him on a talk he gave at the VFW (Veteran's of Foreign Wars) Banquet.
Available here: c020_013_000_005 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 6: Jim Slattery to Bob Dole, 1983-??-??: Letter from Representative Jim Slattery to Senator Bob Dole offering condolences on the death of Dole's mother.
Available here: c020_013_000_006 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 7: Dean Smith to Bob Dole, 7/29/1997: Letter from Head Basketball Coach, University of North Carolina, Dean Smith to Senator Bob Dole thanking him for a letter congratulating the coach on their basketball season, also discussing a shared past at KU.
Available here: c020_013_000_007 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 8: Cornelio Sommaruga to Bob Dole, 2/23/1999: Letter from President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Cornelio Sommaruga to Senator Bob Dole thanking him for an evaluation of Chief of Staff of the ICMP, Erwin Bohi.
Available here: c020_013_000_008 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 9: Arlen Specter to Bob Dole, 7/22/2005: Letter from Senator from Pennsylvania; Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Arlen Specter offering birthday wishes.
Available here: c020_013_000_009 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 10: Leslie Stahl to Bob Dole, 11/9/1987: Letter from CBS reporter Lesley Stahl to Senator Bob Dole giving him a picture of the two of them and Lawton Chiles.
Available here: c020_013_000_026 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 11: Ted Stevens to Bob Dole, 7/14/2006: Letter from Senator From Alaska Ted Stevens to Senator Bob Dole offering him birthday wishes.
Available here: c020_013_000_010 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 12: Elizabeth Taylor to Bob Dole, 3/27/1990: Letter from Actress Elizabeth Taylor to Senator Bob Dole encouraging him to co-sponsor S.2240, the Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency act.
Available here: c020_013_000_011 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 13: Margaret Thatcher to Bob Dole, 11/6/1996: Letter from Former Prime Minister of Great Britain Margaret Thatcher to Senator Bob Dole offering condolences for his 1996 Presidential election loss.
Available here: c020_013_000_012 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 14: Nancy Thurmond to Bob Dole, 9/8/1983: Letter from Wife of Senator from South Caroline Nancy Thurmond offering condolences for the death of Dole's mother.
Available here: c020_013_000_013 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 15: Strom Thurmond to Bob Dole, 10/19/1972: Letter from Senator from South Carolina Strom Thurmond to Senator Bob Dole thanking Dole for a copy of memorial addresses and tributes to James F. Byrnes.
Available here: c020_013_000_024 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 16: Strom Thurmond to Bob Dole, 11/16/1972: Letter from Senator from South Carolina to Senator Bob Dole thanking him for a recent letter.
Available here: c020_013_000_025 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 17: Strom Thurmond to Bob Dole, 9/7/1983: Letter from Senator from South Caroline Strom Thurmond to Senator Bob Dole offering condolences on the death of Dole's mother.
Available here: c020_013_000_014 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 18: Strom Thurmond to Bob Dole, 12/5/2002: Letter from Senator from South Carolina Strom Thurmond to Senator Bob Dole thanking Dole for sponsoring Strom's 100th birthday celebration.
Available here: c020_013_000_015 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 19: Cesar Gaviria Trujillo to Bob Dole, 10/5/1990: Letter from President of Colombia Cesar Gaviria Trujillo to Senator Bob Dole thanking him for his kindness during a recent visit to the U.S. with extra mention of the Caribbean Basin Initiative.
Available here: c020_013_000_016 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 20: John Warner to Bob Dole, 11/8/1993: Letter from Senator from Virginia John Warner to Senator Bob Dole asking for increases communication when all-Member briefings are being held, as many offices had not be contacted for a visiting Ambassador who was updating the Senate on Somalia.
Available here: c020_013_000_017 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 21: Caspar Weinberger to Bob Dole, 9/19/1974: Letter from Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Caspar Weinberger to Senator Bob Dole thanking Dole for his recommendation of Monsignor James T. McHugh for the National commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral R
Available here: c020_013_000_018 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 22: Elie Wiesel to Bob Dole, 12/13/1979: Letter from Author; Holocaust Survivor Elie Wiesel to Senator Bob Dole giving Dole details on the President's Commission on the Holocaust; in which the commission has suggested a museum, memorial, and teaching facility.
Available here: c020_013_000_019 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 23: Roy Wilkins to Bob Dole, 7/6/1965: Telegram from Chairman of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Roy Wilkins to Senator Bob Dole asking for support on the Voting Rights Bill by supporting the House Judiciary Bill and opposing the Ford-McCulloch substitute.
Available here: c020_013_000_020 (PDF, 7 pp.)
Item 24: Paul Wolfowitz to Bob Dole, 11/1/2004: Letter from Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz to Senator Bob Dole telling Dole of a upcoming invitation to speak to students at the School of Advanced International Studies.
Available here: c020_013_000_021 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 25: Boris Yeltsin to Bob Dole, Undated: Letter from President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin to Senator Bob Dole, all text is in Russian.
Available here: c020_013_000_022 (PDF, 1 pp.)
Item 26: Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon to Bob Dole, 11/28/2000: Letter from President of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon to Senator Bob Dole letting him know that he is leaving office on November 30 and hoping that Dole's interest in Mexico will continue in the future.
Available here: c020_013_000_023 (PDF, 1 pp.)