Leonardo Neher (December 5, 1922 – May 11, 2015) was an American diplomat. He was the United States Ambassador to

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

from 1984 to 1987 (then the Republic of Upper Volta).

Biography

Neher was born on December 5, 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended

Akron University The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classifie ...

from 1940 to 1941, and later graduated from Bowling Green State University with a B.A. in 1948 and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

with a M.A. in 1952. Neher served in the U.S. Army in 1943 and left in 1946. He was a personnel technician at the Department of the Navy from 1952 to 1954. In 1954 he entered the U.S. Foreign Service as a consular officer in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. He was economic and political officer in Algeria from 1957–1961, commercial officer in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

from 1962 to 1964 and in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

from 1964 to 1968. He was arms policy officer in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs in the State Department from 1966 to 1968. He was on detail to the Department of Defense as assistant, foreign military rights affairs, international security affairs, in 1968 - 1970. He was principal officer in

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

from 1970 to 1972, deputy chief of mission in

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

from 1972 to 1974, and counselor for political affairs in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

from 1974 to 1977. In 1977, he was on detail to the

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

(EPA) as assistant for plans and policies until 1979. In the State Department he was Staff Director of the Board of Examiners for the Foreign Service from 1979 to 1981, Inspector in the Office of the Inspector General in 1981, and Deputy Director of the Office of Analysis for Africa later on in 1981. In 1982, he was the Director of the Office of Analysis for Africa. On June 18, 1984, he was nominated to be the United States Ambassador to Upper Volta by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

while he was a resident in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. He remained in that post until August 1, 1987, where he was succeeded by

David H. Shinn David H. Shinn (born June 9, 1940) is an American diplomat and professor. He is an Adjunct Professor of International Affairs at The George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs. His diverse career in the foreign ser ...

. His foreign languages are Spanish and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. Neher died on May 11, 2015.

References

Ambassadors of the United States to Burkina Faso 1922 births 2015 deaths People from Cincinnati University of Akron alumni Bowling Green State University alumni University of Chicago alumni United States Foreign Service personnel United States Army personnel of World War II American expatriates in Turkey American expatriates in Vietnam American expatriates in Syria American expatriates in Algeria American expatriates Expatriates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo American expatriates in Chad American expatriates in the Dominican Republic {{US-diplomat-stub