which later would become an important tool in his diplomatic career. His upbringing in the British establishment helped to pave the way into the diplomatic world as a civil servant. Drummond is best known for his 13 years as secretary-general in the League of Nations. Before accepting that prestigious position, however, he had served mainly as a private secretary for various British politicians and diplomats, including the Prime Minister H. H. Asquith. On 20 April 1900, Drummond entered the British Foreign Office as a clerk. From 1906 to 1908, he was the private secretary of the under-secretary to Lord Fitzmaurice. Between 1908 and 1910, he occupied two functions: précis writer of the foreign secretary Sir Edward Grey and the private secretary of the parliamentary under-secretary, Thomas McKinnon Wood. From 1912 to 1918, Drummond worked as the private secretary of respectively: the prime minister, H. H. Asquith, and the foreign secretaries, Sir Edward Grey and Arthur James Balfour. In April to May 1917 he was a member of the Balfour Mission, which was intended to promote cooperation between the British and the Americans during the First World War. League of Nations career Between 1918 and 1919, he was a member of the British delegation to the Paris Peace Conference, where he was engaged in the drafting of the Covenant of the League of Nations. In 1919 he accepted the position of the Secretary-General of the League of Nations, on the recommendation of Lord Robert Cecil. Before the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 much work had been put into finding a suitable candidate for secretary-general of the newly established League of Nations. Cecil, who played an important role in drafting the Covenant and organising the League, initially wanted a person with a background in politics for the post; but despite the existence of several candidates, none accepted his proposal. He believed that only somebody of the highest ability would be sufficient for this role. However, after the office would not be given as many powers as initially thought, Cecil reconsidered and sought to find somebody who was a well-trained civil servant and less known as a big political figure. He first approached Maurice Hankey, who for some time showed interest in the position but in the end rejected the offer only ten days prior to the Paris plenary session. In the event that Hankey would turn down the offer, Cecil and the