Prior to becoming Secretary of State, Hull was a member of the Senate.  He held the position of Secretary of State for more than 11 years, the longest in history.  Hull concentrated, at first, on economic relations, an area in which he had always been keenly interested.  Hull played a key role in the negotiations with the Japanese, attempting to head off a war.  He was, however, often undercut by the personal diplomacy that Roosevelt undertook. Hull did not take part in the major wartime conferences.