Eden became Foreign Secretary while Britain had to adjust its foreign policy to face the rise of the fascist powers.
He supported the policy of non-interference in the Spanish Civil War through conferences such as the Nyon Conference and supported Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in his efforts to preserve peace through reasonable concessions to Germany.
The Italian-Ethiopian War was brewing, and Eden tried in vain to persuade Mussolini to submit the dispute to the League of Nations.
The Italian dictator scoffed at Eden publicly as "the best dressed fool in Europe".
Eden did not protest when Britain and France failed to oppose Hitler's reoccupation of the Rhineland in 1936.
When the French requested a meeting with a view to some kind of military action in response to Hitler's occupation, Eden's statement firmly ruled out any military assistance to France.

Growing dissatisfaction with Chamberlain's policy of coming to friendly terms with Italy led to his resignation on 20 February 1938 as a public protest.
Eden used secret intelligence reports to conclude Italy was an enemy.

Eden still had no complaints about the appeasement of Nazi Germany.
He became a Conservative dissenter, leading a group that Conservative whip David Margesson called the "Glamour Boys".
Meanwhile, the leading anti-appeaser Winston Churchill led a similar group, "The Old Guard".
They were not yet allies and would not see eye-to-eye until Churchill became prime minister in 1940.
There was much speculation that Eden would become a rallying point for all the disparate opponents of Chamberlain, but Eden's position declined among heavily politicians since he maintained a low profile and avoided confrontation though he opposed the Munich Agreement and abstained in the vote on it in the House of Commons.
However, he remained popular in the country at large and, in later years, was often wrongly supposed to have resigned as Foreign Secretary in protest at the Munich Agreement and appeasement generally.
In a 1967 interview, Eden explained his decision to resign: "we had an agreement with Mussolini about the Mediterranean and Spain, which he was violating by sending troops to Spain, and Chamberlain wanted to have another agreement.
I thought Mussolini should honour the first one before we negotiated for the second.
I was trying to fight a delaying action for Britain, and I could not go along with Chamberlain's policy".
Eden became Foreign Secretary while Britain had to adjust its foreign policy to face the rise of the fascist powers. He supported the policy of non-interference in the Spanish Civil War through conferences such as the Nyon Conference and supported Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in his efforts to preserve peace through reasonable concessions to Germany. The Italian-Ethiopian War was brewing, and Eden tried in vain to persuade Mussolini to submit the dispute to the League of Nations. The Italian dictator scoffed at Eden publicly as "the best dressed fool in Europe". Eden did not protest when Britain and France failed to oppose Hitler's reoccupation of the Rhineland in 1936. When the French requested a meeting with a view to some kind of military action in response to Hitler's occupation, Eden's statement firmly ruled out any military assistance to France.
Growing dissatisfaction with Chamberlain's policy of coming to friendly terms with Italy led to his resignation on 20 February 1938 as a public protest. Eden used secret intelligence reports to conclude Italy was an enemy.
Eden still had no complaints about the appeasement of Nazi Germany. He became a Conservative dissenter, leading a group that Conservative whip David Margesson called the "Glamour Boys". Meanwhile, the leading anti-appeaser Winston Churchill led a similar group, "The Old Guard". They were not yet allies and would not see eye-to-eye until Churchill became prime minister in 1940. There was much speculation that Eden would become a rallying point for all the disparate opponents of Chamberlain, but Eden's position declined among heavily politicians since he maintained a low profile and avoided confrontation though he opposed the Munich Agreement and abstained in the vote on it in the House of Commons. However, he remained popular in the country at large and, in later years, was often wrongly supposed to have resigned as Foreign Secretary in protest at the Munich Agreement and appeasement generally. In a 1967 interview, Eden explained his decision to resign: "we had an agreement with Mussolini about the Mediterranean and Spain, which he was violating by sending troops to Spain, and Chamberlain wanted to have another agreement. I thought Mussolini should honour the first one before we negotiated for the second. I was trying to fight a delaying action for Britain, and I could not go along with Chamberlain's policy".
Anthony Eden