Messersmith, George S(trausser) (1883-1960)

US diplomat. He taught in the Delaware public schools and entered the Foreign Service in 1914. After a series of consular appointments, he was ambassador to Cuba (1940-42), Mexico (1942-46), and Argentina (1946-47). In the latter post he worked closely with President Juan Perón but soon resigned as a result of his opposition to the State Department's position on Argentina's role in World War II. He ran the Canadian-owned Mexican Power and Light Company (1947-55). Messersmith was born in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania.