National Security Archive

The National Security Archive
AbbreviationThe Archive
Formation1985, United States
Type501(c)(3) non-profit organization
Legal statusFoundation
PurposeFreedom of information, journalism, transparency, open government, research
HeadquartersWashington, D.C., U.S.
Parent organization
George Washington University
WebsiteNational Security Archive National Security Archive 2 (Legacy)

The National Security Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-governmental, non-profit research and archival institution located on the campus of the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1985 to check rising government secrecy, the National Security Archive is an investigative journalism center, open government advocate, international affairs research institute, and the largest repository of declassified U.S. documents outside the federal government. In the four decades of its history, the National Security Archive has spurred the declassification of more than 15 million pages of government documents by being the leading non-profit user of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), filing a total of more than 70,000 FOIA and declassification requests.