1917
U.S. Food Administration
Woodrow Wilson realized he would need a dynamic leader to ensure the Food administration was effective. His advisor, Edward House suggested Herbert Hoover who had previously run the Commission for Relief in Belgium. Walter Hines Page, the British ambassador, endorsed this choice and Wilson, a Democrat agreed although Hoover was a Republican. Hoover accepted the position only on the basis that he would have a completely free hand as regards the Washington bureaucracy, which in particular referred to David F. Houston, the Secretary of Agriculture. Despite initial resistance Houston acquiesced and Hoover was appointed.