De Graeff was an unorthodox man of a
Remonstrant background, who was mistakenly assumed to be a
CHU sympathizer. Between 1890 and 1895 he studied law at
Leiden University, where he met his friends for life,
Johan Paul Count of Limburg Stirum and Jhr.
Frans Beelaerts van Blokland, and then moved to the
Dutch East Indies. De Graeff became secretary official and general secretary of the governor-general
Alexander Willem Frederik Idenburg. In 1914 he became a member, and in the beginning of 1917 vice president of the
Council of the Dutch East Indies. After his East Indies stint, de Graeff became envoy in
Tokyo (1919-1922) and in
Washington (1922-1926), and was governor-general of the Dutch East Indies from 1926–1931. There, de Graeff tried in vain to conduct an ethical regime that catered to moderate nationalists. De Graeff was also the Dutch minister for foreign affairs for an unspecified period during 1936 and 1937. During De Graeff's term as Foreign Minister, the Netherlands returned to pure neutrality. Throughout 1936, de Graeff served as a "sort of stooge" to
British Foreign Secretary
Anthony Eden in relation to the question of weakening the
League of Nations. De Graeff wanted to modify the League until it became "purely consultative", coax Germany back into it, and abolish forever all sanctions "except the one Sanction that an aggressor would be automatically expelled from the League." == Honours ==