League of Nations Secretariat
Being multilingual, he found work as the British envoy to the League of Nations, along side Philip Noel-Baker. In 1931, he wrote speeches for the League's committe for Cooperation with China along with Alfred Sze, Koo, and Quo Tai-Chi. He was Geneva's official interpreter for visiting Russians. Writing as "C. Howard Ellis", he wrote the text book for the League: Origins, Structure, and Working of the League of Nations.
Konni Zilliacus maintained secret correspondence with C. P. Scott of the Manchester Guardian, convincing the British public to sanction Italy on 27 September 1935, should it attempt to conquer Ethiopia. He wrote many articles and letters on international affairs on a pro-bono basis, usually under pen names such as Vigilantes.
Zilliacus was a firm believer in the power of multinational organizations to prevent war, but he could not lead British foreign policy to work through the League. He worked diligently for the League of Nations until the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia, when he resigned from the secretariat of the League of Nations position.
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