Leonardo Ramón Andollo Valdés

Cuban military officer, Division General of the Reserve who distinguished himself during Cuba's presence in Africa (Ethiopia). He held different responsibilities, eventually serving as Second Chief of the General Staff and Chief of the Operations Directorate.

He also held various responsibilities within the Western Army. Deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power in the IX Legislature representing the municipality of Güira de Melena, Artemisa province.

He was born in Cerro, Havana. Son of workers from the Materva Brewery factory, his father was a worker and his mother a chemical technician. His father was a member of the Popular Socialist Party. He completed his early education in public school, later attending private school near Quinta Covadonga.

Military Career
In 1960 he joined the Revolutionary National Militias. When the schools were nationalized, he was appointed as administrator of the school where he studied, the Pitman Academy. In the militias he was sent to support the Revolutionary National Police at the Tenth Station.

During the Attack on Playa Girón, he participated in the 62-kilometer march, earning the green beret.

He then studied Commerce, but eventually abandoned his studies and joined the Revolutionary Armed Forces, initially assigned to Finca de los Monos where there was an important militia unit. He was later transferred to the Engineering Section of Point 1 of the General Staff in Nuevo Vedado.

In January 1962 he enrolled in an emergency course in Command and General Staff specialty for engineer troops lasting one year in the Soviet Union. The school was about 60 kilometers from Moscow, in the Klin region, where he met the brothers Rogelio and Enrique Acevedo.

Upon returning from the USSR, he returned to the Engineering Directorate, headed by Commander Julio García Oliveras. He was appointed warehouse chief and accountant. Subsequently he moved to the combat preparation section. He began working on operational matters. He also participated in the first programs developed for operations planning.

In 1970 he was designated by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro to travel abroad on a mission to purchase equipment to accelerate new fortification construction and introduce new technologies.

In 1974, as part of cadre advancement plans, he was sent again to the Soviet Union to take the advanced course at the Voroshilov Military Academy of the General Staff, a two-year course that was the highest level operational-strategic course the Soviets had. At the end of the course, his group was chosen as the second best course in the entire academy.

In April 1977 he departed for Ethiopia with the purpose of being part of the first group of internationalist aid that traveled to that country. Here he had the opportunity to participate in a political-military process from the highest level. At that time he already possessed a series of knowledge that placed him in a much more favorable condition for analyzing these phenomena. He was appointed Chief of Staff of the Mission.

Upon his return to Cuba in 1983, he was stationed for several years in the Western Army with the purpose of gaining experience in troop command, first working as second chief of the Engineering Directorate and a few months later appointed head of the Directorate. While holding that position he participated in a new stage of development of engineer troops, aimed at strengthening the country's defensive capacity and fulfilling internationalist missions.

In 1989 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general, being at that time the youngest Cuban military officer with that rank. He remained in this position until 1997 when he was appointed Second Chief of the General Staff. During these years he obtained the scientific degree of Doctor in Military Sciences, was promoted to the rank of division general, and had the opportunity to fulfill various missions abroad as well as represent MINFAR in diverse governmental tasks.

He worked as second chief of the Permanent Commission for the Implementation and Development of the improvement of Cuba's economic and social model.

Decorations Received
Throughout his career, he was awarded various decorations, among which stand out the Order for Service to the Homeland Second Class and Order for High Merit in the Defense of the Socialist Homeland, awarded by the Ethiopian Government; the medals For Exemplary Service in the Revolutionary Armed Forces, For the Strengthening of Combat Fraternity, First Class Internationalist Combatant, For the Victory Cuba-Ethiopia, among others.