Leon B. Poullada, is an American diplomat, the son of a Mexican immigrant doctor, and served as an Ambassador to Togo under the Kennedy Administration. He died of cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 in 1987.

Poullada was a career Foreign Service officer who served as the United States Ambassador to Togo

United States Ambassador to Togo

This is a list of Ambassadors of the United States to Togo.Until 1955 French Togoland was a United Nations Trust Territory mandated by the U.N. to France. In 1955, French Togoland became the autonomous Republic of Togo within the French Community , although it retained its UN trusteeship status...

 during the Kennedy Administration and specialized in Afghan history

History of Afghanistan

The written history of Afghanistan can be traced back to the Achaemenid Empire ca. 500 BCE, although evidence indicates that an advanced degree of urbanized culture has existed in the land since between 3000 and 2000 BCE. Alexander the Great and his Macedonian army arrived to Afghanistan in 330 BCE...

. He died of cancer at his home in St. Paul, Minnesota at age 74. In his 17-year diplomatic career, Poullada served in Ceylon, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 and Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 before President Kennedy nominated him as Ambassador to the nation of Togo in 1961. In 1963, during Poullada's posting, Togo

Togo

Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...

's President, Sylvanus Olympio

Sylvanus Olympio

Sylvanus Epiphanio Olympio was a Togolese political figure who served as Prime Minister, and then President, of Togo from 1958 until his assassination in 1963.-Political career:...

, was assassinated at the United States Embassy gates.

After retiring in 1965 from the Foreign Service, Poullada began studies at Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 for a doctorate in political science. His dissertation, a study of Afghan history between 1919 and 1927, was published in 1972 by Cornell University Press

Cornell University Press

The Cornell University Press, established in 1869 but inactive from 1884 to 1930, was the first university publishing enterprise in the United States.A division of Cornell University, it is housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage....

.

At the end of World War Two, Major Poullada participated as Legal Counsel at the Nuremberg Trials.

Poullada taught political science at the Northern Arizona University

Northern Arizona University

Northern Arizona University is a public university located in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and has 39 satellite campuses in the state of Arizona. The university offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees.As of...

 at Flagstaff

Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff is a city located in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2010, the city's population was 65,870. The population of the Metropolitan Statistical Area was at 134,421 in 2010. It is the county seat of Coconino County...

 and lectured around the country on Afghanistan and United States diplomacy. After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, he helped organize efforts to aid the Afghan guerrillas.

He married his wife, Leila Jackson Poullada, and had two sons, Peter Poullada of Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

, Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, and Philip Poullada of Port Washington, New York

Port Washington, New York

Port Washington is a hamlet and census-designated place in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the community population was 15,846....

; as well as a daughter, Sofia Poullada of Saratoga, California

Saratoga, California

Saratoga is a city in Santa Clara County, California, USA. It is located on the west side of the Santa Clara Valley, directly west of San Jose, in the San Francisco Bay area. The population was 29,926 at the 2010 census....

, a granddaughter, Roxana Safipour and a grandson Noveed Safipour.