Leo J. Keena

Leo John Keena[lower-alpha 1] (April 12, 1878 – December 13, 1967) was an American football player and diplomat.

Leo J. Keena
Keena cropped from 1897 University of Michigan team photograph
2nd United States Minister to South Africa
In office
October 22, 1937 – August 13, 1942
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byRalph J. Totten
Succeeded byLincoln MacVeagh
United States Minister to Honduras
In office
July 19, 1935 – May 1, 1937
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byJulius Gareché Lay
Succeeded byJohn Draper Erwin
Personal details
Born
Leo Japathet Keena

(1878-04-12)April 12, 1878
Detroit, Michigan, United States
DiedDecember 13, 1967(1967-12-13) (aged 89)
Knysna, Cape Province, South Africa
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
Known forDiplomat
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service1898
Battles/warsSpanish-American War

Early years

Keena was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1878, the son of James T. Keena and Henrietta (Boyle) Keena. His father was a lawyer who later became the president of the Peoples State Bank of Detroit.[2]

University of Michigan

Keena played college football as a fullback and kicker for the University of Michigan from 1897 to 1899.[3] He served in the United States Navy as a seaman on the auxiliary cruiser USS Yosemite during the Spanish–American War.[4]

Diplomatic career

After receiving his degree, Keena became a diplomat for the United States in 1909.[5] He was married in August 1906 to Eleanor Clarke. Keena's early diplomatic posts include service as U.S. Consul in Chihuahua, Mexico (1909–10), U.S. Counsel to Florence, Italy (1910–14),[6] U.S. Consul General in Buenos Aires, Argentina (1914–15),[7][8] U.S. Consul General in Valparaíso, Chile (1915–19), U.S. Consul General in Zürich, Switzerland (1919–20),[9][10] U.S. Consul General in Warsaw, Poland (1920–22),[11] U.S. Consul in Liverpool, England (1924–26), U.S. Counsul General in Havana, Cuba (1927–29), and U.S. Counsul General in Paris (1929–32).[12][13] He was appointed by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and served as the United States Ambassador to Honduras from February 1935 to May 1937 and as United States Ambassador to South Africa from July 1937 to August 1942.[14]

Later life and death

After his assignment to South Africa, Keena retired from the Foreign Service in 1943. He died in Knysna in December 1967.[15]

Notes
  1. Although Keena's middle name is listed as "Japathet" in the University of Michigan yearbook, the Michiganensian, for 1899,[1] later sources, including the State Department, refer to him by the middle name "John."
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References
  1. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=moa;cc=moa;q1=keena;rgn=full%20text;idno=AAG4364.1900.001;didno=AAG4364.1900.001;view=image;seq=00000237
  2. 33 Banking L. J. 795 (1916).
  3. "Forced Keena to Punt: U. of M. Scrubs Kept the 'Varsity Eleven Busy Yesterday". Detroit Free Press. October 14, 1899.
  4. "Michigan in the War". The Michigan Alumnus. December 1898. p. 89.
  5. "APPOINTED TO PARIS AS CONSUL GENERAL; Leo J. Keena of Detroit Is Transferred to French Capital From Havana.NEAR EASTERN CHIEF NAMEDWallace S. Murray Gets Shaw's Post--Other Changes Announced byState Department". The New York Times. 1929-11-03. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  6. "Detroiter Becomes a Consul in Italy". Detroit Free Press. December 13, 1910.
  7. "Buenos Aires Regrets Departure of Keena: Business Houses Protest Transfer of U. S. Consul-General and Commerce Board Gives Him Dinner". Detroit Free Press. May 4, 1915.
  8. "President Announces Consular Nominations". Meriden Morning Record. April 10, 1914.
  9. "Bomb Is Exploded Under U.S. Consulate". The Atlanta Constitution. March 5, 1920.
  10. "American Consulate at Zurich Bombed". Christian Science Monitor. March 5, 1920.
  11. "Death Trails Pole Refugees: American Consul General at Warsaw Bares Horrors of Exodus From Russia". Detroit Free Press. August 11, 1922.
  12. "Appointed to Paris as Counsel General: Leo J. Keena of Detroit Is Transferred to French Capital From Havana". The New York Times. November 3, 1929.
  13. "Keena Is Elevated to Consul General". Detroit Free Press. December 30, 1934. p. 13.
  14. "Index to Politicians: Keat to Keena". The Political Graveyard.
  15. "Deaths". The Foreign Service Journal. Vol. 45 no. 2. February 1968. p. 2.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Julius Gareché Lay		 United States Minister to Honduras
1935-1937		 Succeeded by
John Draper Erwin
Preceded by
Ralph J. Totten		 United States Minister to South Africa
1937–1943		 Succeeded by
Lincoln MacVeagh
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