George Wadsworth II

American diplomat (1893–1958)

George Wadsworth

3rd United States Minister to North Yemen
In office
January 9, 1954 – January 1, 1958
President| Dwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded by| Raymond A. Hare
Succeeded by| Donald R. Heath
3rd United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
In office
January 9, 1954 – January 1, 1958
President| Dwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded by| Raymond A. Hare
Succeeded by| Donald R. Heath
5th United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia
In office
October 1, 1948 – January 2, 1952
President| Harry S. Truman
Preceded by| Ellis O. Briggs
Succeeded by| U. Alexis Johnson
12th United States Ambassador to Turkey
In office
October 1, 1948 – January 2, 1952
President| Harry S. Truman
Preceded by| Edwin C. Wilson
Succeeded by| George C. McGhee
1st United States Ambassador to Iraq
In office
February 15, 1947 – September 26, 1948
President| Harry S. Truman
Preceded by| Loy W. Henderson
Succeeded by| Edward Savage Crocker II
1st United States Minister to Syria
In office
November 17, 1944 – February 8, 1947
President| Franklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded by| Diplomatic relations established
Succeeded by| Paul H. Alling
1st United States Minister to Lebanon
In office
November 16, 1944 – February 1, 1947
President| Franklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded by| Diplomatic relations established
Succeeded by| Lowell C. Pinkerton
United States Ambassador to Italy

Acting, as chargé d'affaires

In office
October 6, 1941 – December 11, 1941
President| Franklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded by| William Phillips
Succeeded by| Alexander Comstock Kirk (1945)
Personal details
Born| (1893-04-03)April 3, 1893
Beverly, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died| March 5, 1958(1958-03-05) (aged 64)
Spouse| Dorothy Marnard Lasell
Alma mater| Union College
Occupation| Career FSO

George Wadsworth II (April 3, 1893 – March 5, 1958) was a United States diplomat, specializing in the Middle East.

## Life

[edit]

Wadsworth was born in Buffalo, New York and received a degree in chemical engineering from Union College in Schenectady, New York. He became interested in teaching abroad and moved to Beirut, Lebanon and joined the staff of the American University of Beirut as a professor (he served there from 1914 to 1917). To supplement his income, he took a part-time job working as a clerk in the United States consulate in Beirut.[1]

In May 1921, he married Dorothy Marnard Lasell. She died on November 20, 1928.;[2] married, May 1, 1936, to Norma Mack, daughter of Norman E. Mack and Harriet Taggart Mack.

He had two children with his first wife: George Wadsworth Lasell and Caroline Harris (née Wadsworth).

## Foreign Service career

[edit]

In 1917, he entered the Foreign Service full-time and served in positions at embassies in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

From 1936 to 1940, Wadsworth served as Consul General in Jerusalem. In 1941, Wadsworth was serving in the United States embassy in Rome, Italy under Ambassador William Phillips who had been tasked with persuading Benito Mussolini to not enter World War II on the side of the Axis Powers. Unfortunately, his efforts failed and he fled Italy five days before the declaration of war. During those five days, Wadsworth served as Chargé d'affaires ad interim there. On December 9, 1941, Wadsworth informed the U.S. Secretary of State at the time that Italy would declare war against the United States if Germany did so.[3] When war was declared by Italy on December 11, 1941, Wadsworth was informed personally by Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano. He then worked with Italian authorities to secure the safe passage of the embassy staff home, and was one of the three final staff members to leave in May 1942. He arrived back in New York by ocean liner in June. This was Wadsworth's first duty as Chief of Mission.

On returning to the US, Wadsworth was nearly immediately assigned to be Consul General, and then the first Ambassador to Syria and Lebanon, a political move that strengthened those countries against claims by Vichy France. After the war, he was made the first Ambassador to Iraq, previously served only by a lower-ranking Minister Plenipotentiary. He was subsequently in his career made ambassador to Turkey, Czechoslovakia,[4] and then Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.[5]

Starting during his time in Turkey, Wadsworth began a practice that would be one of the hallmarks of his diplomatic career. He raised money to establish a golf course in Ankara, which became a "social center" for diplomatic circles. Throughout the remainder of his career, he raised funds to set up nine other golf courses in the Middle East,[1] with one newspaper describing him as the "Johnny Appleseed of golf courses, sowing fairways in the most impossible places."[6]

He died of cancer in 1958, aged 64, less than a month before he was scheduled to retire on his 65th birthday.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Wadsworth, Ex-Envoy, Dies". The Washington Post. Mar 6, 1958. ProQuest 149009151.
2. ^ "MRS. GEORGE WADSWORTH.: American Diplomat's Wife Dies Just After Arriving in Cairo". The New York Times. Nov 21, 1928. ProQuest 104436189.
3. ^ Wadsworth (December 9, 1941). "The Chargé in Italy (Wadsworth) to the Secretary of State". U.S. Secretary of State of the Historian. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
4. ^ "Wadsworth Is Nominated As New Envoy to Prague". The New York Times. Oct 10, 1952. ProQuest 112392039.
5. ^ "Veteran Diplomat Named To Saudi Arabia, Yemen". The New York Times. Oct 22, 1953. ProQuest 112743060.
6. ^ "Golf-Course Builder Puts Links In Sand". Toledo Blade. November 25, 1954.

## Sources

[edit]

* Bertram D. Hulen (Dec 12, 1941). "Hull Very Frigid to Visiting Envoys". The New York Times. p. 3.
* "Gets Diplomatic Post". The New York Times. Oct 3, 1942. p. 6.
* "Obituaries". Chicago Daily Tribune. Mar 7, 1958. p. A11A.

## External links

[edit]

* "George Wadsworth (1893–1958)". State Department. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
* Media related to George Wadsworth (diplomat) at Wikimedia Commons

Diplomatic posts

Preceded by

William Phillips

|  United States ambassador to Italy
1941
Chargé d'affaires ad interim | Succeeded by

Alexander C. Kirk
After World War II

Preceded by

None

|  United States ambassador to Syria
1942 – 1947
Consul General, promoted to Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | Succeeded by

James Hugh Keeley Jr.

Preceded by

None

|  United States ambassador to Lebanon
1942 – 1947
First Ambassador | Succeeded by

Lowell C. Pinkerton

Preceded by

James S. Moose Jr.
Chargé d'affaires ad interim

|  United States ambassador to Iraq
1947 – 1948
First Ambassador | Succeeded by

Edward S. Crocker

Preceded by

Edwin C. Wilson

|  United States Ambassador to Turkey
1948 – 1952  | Succeeded by

George C. McGhee

Preceded by

Ellis O. Briggs

|  United States Ambassador to Czechoslovakia
1952 – 1953  | Succeeded by

U. Alexis Johnson

Preceded by

Raymond A. Hare

|  United States ambassador to Saudi Arabia
1954 – 1958  | Succeeded by

Donald R. Heath

Preceded by

Raymond A. Hare

|  United States ambassador to Yemen
1954 – 1958  | Succeeded by

Donald R. Heath

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