the secretary of the American peace commission in Paris (1919–1920). Ambassador to Denmark and Switzerland From April 7, 1920 to October 14, 1921, Grew served as the U.S. Ambassador to Denmark after his appointment by President Woodrow Wilson. He was preceded by Norman Hapgood and succeeded by John Dyneley Prince. He replaced Hampson Gary as the United States Ambassador to Switzerland after his appointment by President Warren Harding. In 1922, he and Richard Child acted as the American observers at the Conference of Lausanne. Grew served as Ambassador until March 22, 1924, when Hugh S. Gibson replaced him. Under Secretary of State (1924–1927) From April 16, 1924 to June 30, 1927, Grew served as the Under Secretary of State in Washington under President Calvin Coolidge and succeeded William Phillips. Discrimination against Black applicants to the Foreign Service During this period, Grew also served as chairman of the Foreign Service Personnel Board. In 1924, the Rogers Act created a merit-based hiring process that enabled Clifton Reginald Wharton Sr. to later that year become the first Black member of the Foreign Service. Grew used his position to manipulate the oral part of the exam specifically to prevent further hiring of Black candidates. After Wharton, no other Black person was hired to join the Foreign Service for more than 20 years. Ambassador to Turkey In 1927, Grew was appointed as the American ambassador to Turkey. He served in Ankara until 1932, when he was offered the opportunity to return to the Far East. Ambassador to Japan In 1932, Grew was appointed by President Herbert Hoover to succeed William Cameron Forbes as the Ambassador to Japan, where he took up his posting on June 6. Ambassador and Mrs. Grew had been happy in Turkey, and were hesitant about the move, but decided that Grew would have a unique opportunity to make the difference between peace and war between the United States and Japan. The Grews soon became popular in Japanese society, joining clubs and societies there, and adapting to the culture, even as relations between the two countries deteriorated. During his long tenure in Japan he became well known to the American public, making regular appearances in newspapers, newsreels and magazines, including an appearance on Time magazine's cover in 1934, and a long 1940 feature story in Life in which writer John Hersey, later famous for Hiroshima, called Grew “unquestionably the most important U.S.