on signature than in the hard after-light." Cadogan wrote in his diary in January 1944: "They [the Soviet diplomats] are the most stinking creepy set of Jews I've ever come across." At the same time, he defended the Yalta Conference as relatively successful, writing “We have got an agreement on Poland which may heal differences, for some time at least, and assure some degree of independence for the Poles.” United Nations At the end of the war Cadogan had hoped for the Washington embassy but it went to another capable career diplomat, Sir Archibald Clark Kerr. Instead, it is probably his experience with the League of Nations and his prominent role at Dumbarton Oaks that made Clement Attlee appoint Cadogan the first Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations. He served in this capacity from 1946 to 1950. During his time at the UN, as David Dilks points out, "British diplomacy had to be conducted from a precarious position of over-commitment and economic instability." Cadogan expressed great frustration with the inflexibility of his Soviet counterparts, who were forbidden from mixing with other delegations or informal exchanges of views. At one point, he asked himself, "How can ten men discuss with a ventriloquist's doll?" He saw many parallels between Soviet actions at the beginning of the Cold War and those of the Germans on the eve of the Second World War. He remarked to Winston Churchill, "What forces itself on one's attention is the degree to which everything favours the evildoer, if he is blatant enough. Any honest Government fights (in peacetime) with two hands tied behind its back. The brilliant blatancy of the Russians is something that we can admire but cannot emulate. It gives them a great advantage." Although he was never celebrated as a public figure, Cadogan enjoyed great prestige within diplomatic circles. He was widely respected for his ability, character and experience. He and his wife cultivated a large and varied number of friends by entertaining at their Long Island home, Hillandale. Later life In 1952, Cadogan was made Chairman of Board of Governors of the BBC by Winston Churchill, who had returned to office the previous year. When Cadogan expressed his concern that he lacked appropriate qualifications, Churchill replied, "There are no qualifications. All you have to do is to be fair". Cadogan added, "And sensible, I suppose". Churchill nodded. On his appointment,