The Council is IUPAC's primary governing body to which the Bureau, Executive Committee, Standing Committees, Divisions, Commissions, and all other IUPAC bodies are responsible. Its membership is composed of Delegations from the National Adhering Organizations (NAOs). Regular meetings of the Council are held every two years as part of the General Assembly.

Arranged in chronological order by date, this series contains IUPAC's Council files regarding the 26th thru 37th Council Meetings, which were held at various locations between 1971 and 1993. The contents of the files in this series consist mainly of correspondence.

The Bureau is the body established by IUPAC's Council to act on its behalf during intervals between Council Meetings. Its membership is composed of IUPAC's President, Vice President, Secretary General, Treasurer, immediate Past-President, and Presidents of Divisions, together with at least ten other members elected by the Council who are known as Elected Members.

Arranged in chronological order by date, this series contains IUPAC's Bureau files. The files in this series mainly document the Bureau's 22nd thru 65th meetings, which were held at various locations between 1968 and 1994. A handful of Bureau business correspondence files are also preserved here.

The contents of the Bureau files consist mainly of correspondence. Smaller, but noticeable, amounts of minutes, agendas, notes, and reports are also found in this series. Small amounts of other miscellaneous materials, including, but not limited to, papers, membership approvals, and membership lists are preserved here as well.

The Executive Committee is the body established by IUPAC's Bureau to ensure the orderly discharge of IUPAC functions between meetings of the Bureau. Its membership is composed of eight members, which include the President, Vice-President, Secretary General, Treasurer, and immediate Past President. Other members are elected by the Bureau from among its Elected Members.

Arranged in chronological order by date, this series contains IUPAC's Executive Committee files. The files in this series mainly document the Executive Committee's 60th thru 121st meetings, which were held between 1968 and 1995. A few files regarding various Executive Committee administrative matters are also preserved here.

The contents of the Executive Committee files consist mainly of correspondence. Smaller, but noticeable, amounts of agendas, notes, and minutes are also found in this series. Small amounts of other miscellaneous materials, including, but not limited to, reports, photographs, and questionnaires are preserved here as well.

The Finance Committee is an Advisory Committee established to oversee IUPAC's finances. Its duties include advising the President and Executive Committee on financial matters, making financial recommendations to the President and/or Executive Committee, reviewing IUPAC's securities, and purchasing and selling securities held by IUPAC. The Committee's membership is composed of a Chair and four Titular Members. In addition, IUPAC's Treasurer and Executive Director serve as non-voting members.

Arranged in its original order (mainly chronological order by date), this series contains IUPAC's Finance Committee files. The files in this series mainly document Finance Committee meetings held between 1967 and 1997. They also document IUPAC's financial dealings between 1965 and 1997 and provide information regarding IUPAC's financial condition during that time period.

The contents of the Finance Committee files consist mainly of correspondence and financial documents, including, but not limited to statements, reports, balance sheets, and budgets. Smaller, but noticeable, amounts of other miscellaneous materials, including minutes, notes, and agendas are preserved here as well.

Note - Materials dealing with the earlier years of the Finance Committee (1919-1950) are found in Box 196 Folders 3-6 and Box 197 Folders 1-3.

This series contains records documenting meetings of IUPAC's Division Presidents and records maintained by IUPAC's Executive Secretary. The contents of these records are arranged into the following two sub-series:

1. Records of Executive Secretary
2. Meetings of Division Presidents

The Publications Committee was a Standing Committee formed to oversee the production of IUPAC's various publications. Established in 1969, its duties included advising on the design and implementation of publications, data sharing, and standards of promoting the exchange of chemical information. Due to the advent of electronic information media, the Publications Committee was later renamed the Committee on Printed and Electronic Publications. This committee is currently called the Committee on Publications and Cheminformatics Data Standards.

Arranged in chronological order by date, this series contains IUPAC's Publications Committee files. The files in this series document the activities of the Publications Committee between 1970 and 1986. Topics discussed in these files include the appointment of a new official IUPAC publisher and the replacement of IUPAC's Scientific Editor (See also Boxes 206-207).

The contents of the Publications Committee consist mainly of correspondence. Meeting minutes, reports, and a few manuscripts are also preserved here.

Arranged in its original order, this series contains IUPAC's Standing Committees files. The files in this series document the activities of thirteen IUPAC Standing Committees, including, but not limited to, CHEMRAWN (Committee on Chemical Research Applied to World Needs),the Committee on Teaching of Chemistry (CTC), the Committee on Chemistry and Industry (COCI), and the Interdivisional Committee on Nomenclature and Symbols (IDCNS).

The contents of the Standing Committees files consist mainly of correspondence. A variety of other miscellaneous materials, including, but not limited to, papers, legal documents, reports, minutes, and manuscripts are preserved here as well.

Note - Materials in Boxes 69-77 created by the Archives of the Committee on Teaching of Chemistry (CTC) were damaged in a fire. A number of fire damaged files were subsequently discarded, hence the large gaps in the numbering. Traces of fire-retardant chemicals may remain on the files in Boxes 69-77 that were preserved.

This series contains the files of IUPAC's Physical Chemistry Division. Established in 1949, it worked to promote international collaboration between scientists in physical chemistry and related fields. The Physical Chemistry Division was renamed the Physical and Biophysical Chemistry Division in September 2000.

Arranged in its original order, the Physical Chemistry Division files document the activities of a number of bodies that were either formed or placed under the Physical Chemistry Division's oversight. The bodies represented in this series include, but are not limited to, the Commission on Thermodynamics, the Commission on Electrochemistry, and the Commission on Molecular Structure and Spectroscopy.

Correspondence makes up the bulk of the materials found in the Physical Chemistry Division files. A variety of other miscellaneous materials, including, but not limited to, reports, tables, minutes, reprints, and manuscripts are preserved here as well.