Ambassador J. Stapleton Roy retired from the Foreign Service in January 2001 after a career spanning 45 years with the US Department of State. Fluent in Chinese, Roy spent much of his career in East Asia, where his assignments included Bangkok (twice), Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing (twice), Singapore, and Jakarta. He also specialized in Soviet affairs and served in Moscow at the height of the Cold War. Roy rose to become a three-time ambassador, serving as the top US envoy in Singapore (1984-86), the People’s Republic of China (1991-95), and Indonesia (1996-99). In 1996, he was promoted to the rank of Career Ambassador, the highest rank in the Foreign Service.

Ambassador Roy’s final post with the State Department was as Assistant Secretary for Intelligence and Research. In January 2001, Ambassador Roy joined Kissinger Associates, Inc., a strategic consulting firm, as Managing Director. He works from offices in New York City and Washington, DC.

Ambassador Roy was born in Nanjing, China of American missionary parents. In 1956, he graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University, where he majored in history and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.