Henry Kissinger
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger speaks during a ceremony unveiling a statue of former U.S. President Gerald Ford in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington May 3, 2011. Reuters

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger will donate his collection of some one million documents and objects covering his life as a diplomat, teacher and private citizen to Yale University, The Associated Press reported.

Yale President Richard Levin said Wednesday the collection will enhance Yale's archives of 20th century American leaders.

The collection that will come to Yale will be the most comprehensive collection of Kissinger materials, Yale history professor John Gaddis said. There will be considerable new material. In the end, I think there will be all kinds of fresh interpretations that will come out of this.

According to Gaddis, some materials will be available soon, but other parts of the collection will take some time, as there is an ongoing effort to get documents from the 1970s declassified.

Kissinger was national security adviser and secretary of state under President Richard M. Nixon and continued as chief diplomat during President Gerald R. Ford's administration. Kissinger received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for his role in negotiations with his North Vietnamese adversary that led to a peace accord.

The Kissinger archives at Yale will serve as the foundation for the new Johnson Center for the Study of American Diplomacy.