Nay, John Raleigh, 1953-

John R. Nay (1953- ) is a retired American diplomat. He most notably served as U.S. Ambassador to Suriname from 2009 to 2012.

Born in 1953 in Louisiana, Nay grew up in Battle Creek, Michigan. He earned a B.A. (1976) and M.A. (1977) in History from Andrews University in 1976 and 1977 respectively as well as a Masters in National Security Strategy from the National Defense University in 1996. In 1974, he served his Seventh Day Adventist mission in Japan as an English teacher, an experience he later said “played a significant part in my joining the Foreign Service by helping to stimulate my interest in international affairs and the world.”

Nay joined the State Department in 1977. His first overseas assignment was in Taiwan, from 1978 to 1980, followed by a posting to Singapore from 1980 to 1982. He returned to the U.S. to serve as an analyst on Cambodia and Korea from 1982 to 1985. Nay served at the U.S. Consulate General in Calgary, Canada, from 1985 to 1989, returning to the scene of his first foreign posting to serve as consular chief at the American Institute in Taiwan, in Taipei, Taiwan, from 1990 to 1993. Nay served in Washington, D.C., as Deputy Director for Pacific Island Affairs from 1993 to 1995, and then headed to Africa to be Regional Consular Officer for southern Africa, based in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 1996 to 1999. Continuing to serve overseas, he became Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India, from 1999 to 2002. Back in Washington, DC, Nay served from 2002 to 2003 as a Senior Inspector in the State Department’s Office of the Inspector General, and from 2003 to 2006 as Office Director for African Regional and Security Affairs in the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs. He returned to Canada to be Consul General in Toronto from 2006 to 2009.

Appointed U.S. Ambassador to Suriname on July 28, 2009, Nay presented his credentials on October 16. During his tenure as Ambassador to Suriname, he emphasized the importance of human rights, freedom of the press, respect for law, and the value of protecting Suriname’s rich environmental diversity in both its rain forests and its marine areas. On September 3, 2012, Nay left his post.

After his ambassadorship, Nay served as Diplomat in Residence at the University of Illinois–Chicago before retiring from the Foreign Service in 2013. In 2016, he was named President of the International Religious Liberty Association.

Nay is language qualified in Chinese (Mandarin). He and his wife, Judith Ashdon Nay, have three adult children and two grandchildren.