An American politician (9)
(Other definitions for statesman that I've seen before include "Government minister" , "Respected politician" , "Leading politician" , "Political leader" , "Experienced politician" .)
'politician?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'an american' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'an' could be 'a' and 'a' is found in the answer.
'american' could be 'a' (common abbreviation - e.g. in organisation names) and 'a' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for stateswoman that I've seen before include "Diplomat" , "Politician" , "Political leader" , "Political figure" .)