[1][3] Anderson's interest in international affairs had been stirred by a trip to Europe in 1937, where in Germany she first saw a totalitarian state in action, as she recalled.

On her return she spoke frequently for the League of Women Voters, fighting the strong isolationist policies of the time.

Despite undercurrents of sexism and discomfort in the press with her career flaunting gender roles, she was well-known in Denmark and was sometimes called "Auntie Anderson" by the media.

For example, immediately after she presented her credentials to King Frederik, she invited the workers who furnished her official residence and their families to a house-warming party.

[3][9] When she resigned from this position in 1953, King Frederik IX awarded her the Grand Cross of the Order of Dannebrog, a high honor.

[13] While ambassador to Bulgaria, Anderson negotiated the settlement of outstanding Bulgarian debts to the US from World War II.

[8] A year later in 1966, she served on the United Nations Committee for Decolonization, which supported newly independent countries in Africa and Asia.