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 Yaméogo, was the leader of the Voltaic Democratic Union (UDV). The 1960 constitution provided for election by universal suffrage of a president and a national assembly for five year terms; however, soon after coming to power, Yaméogo banned all political parties other than the UDV. 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