Leonardo Neher nominated to be the United States Ambassador to Upper Volta by President Ronald Reagan while he was a resident in Maryland. He remained in that post until August 1, 1987, where he was succeeded by David H. Shinn. His foreign languages are Spanish and French. Neher died on May 11, 2015. Leonardo Neher Leonardo Neher (December 5, 1922 – May 11, 2015) was an American diplomat. He was the United States Ambassador to Burkina Faso from 1984 to 1987 (then the Republic of Upper Volta). Neher was born on December 5, 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Akron University from
French Upper Volta French Upper Volta Upper Volta () was a colony of French West Africa established on 1 March 1919, from territories that had been part of the colonies of Upper Senegal and Niger and the Côte d'Ivoire. The colony was dissolved on 5 September 1932, with parts being administered by the Côte d'Ivoire, French Sudan and the Colony of Niger. After World War II, on 4 September 1947, the colony was revived as a part of the French Union, with its previous boundaries. On 11 December 1958, it was reconstituted as the self-governing Republic of Upper Volta within the French Community,