Buchanan returned to politics and once again sought the Democratic nomination in the election of 1852. He lost out once again, this time to Franklin Pierce, who went on to win the presidency. Pierce appointed Buchanan as minister to Great Britain. As minister to Great Britain, Buchanan had a role with U.S. minister to Spain, Pierre Soule, in drafting the Ostend Manifesto, which justified the U.S. annexation of Cuba.