Archives Nationales de Côte d'Ivoire

Overview

The Archives Nationales de Côte d'Ivoire preserve the country's government and colonial-era documentary heritage, based in Abidjan-Plateau. The institution has been under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior since 1994.

History

Archival administration in French West Africa (AOF), of which Côte d'Ivoire was part, dates to an April 21, 1912 decree. In Côte d'Ivoire, archives remained under the authority of the Institut Français d'Afrique Noire (IFAN) until May 27, 1957, when they passed to the Ministry of the Interior under the loi-cadre Defferre reforms, in order to better control local and territorial archives and encourage the development of national archival services. Decree n° 76-314 of June 4, 1976 formally established the government's archive service as the Direction des Archives Nationales de Côte d'Ivoire. Oversight of the institution briefly moved to the Ministry of Culture from 1991 to 1993 before returning to the Ministry of the Interior in 1994.

Collections, Holdings, and Publications

The archive holds extensive colonial-era government records, including the Série EE (Political Affairs) documenting the colonial administration, and the Série RR covering agriculture, animal husbandry, and forestry services; the Série EE alone spans some 16.2 linear meters across 162 boxes. Under its 1976 statute, the institution is also charged with safeguarding non-public documents of national interest originating in Côte d'Ivoire and with controlling, harmonizing, centralizing, and conserving the archives of local and territorial governments.

Access and Usage

The National Archives works with French and international researchers on inventorying and studying its colonial holdings; documents are generally restricted from public research for fifty years, and researchers are typically advised to contact both the National Archives and, for foreign-relations material, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.