Jay K. Katzen

Jay K. Katzen
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 31st district
In office January 12, 1994 – January 9, 2002
Preceded by	Jerry Wood
Succeeded by	Scott Lingamfelter
Personal details
Born	Jay Kenneth Katzen (1936-08-23)August 23, 1936 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	April 9, 2020(2020-04-09) (aged 83) Talkeetna, Alaska, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Patricia Ann Morse
Alma mater	Princeton University (BA) Yale University (MA)

Jay Kenneth Katzen (August 23, 1936 – April 9, 2020) was an American diplomat, business consultant, state legislator, and government agency administrator, and former President of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. He graduated from Princeton University (1958) and Yale University (1959) and served United States presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower through George H. W. Bush. His positions included White House translator and U.S. representative to the United Nations. From 1977 to 1979 he served chargé d'affairs ad interim to Congo (Brazzaville). He became active in Virginia politics when elected in 1993 to represent the 31st legislative district of the Virginia House of Delegates.^[1] In 2001, he was the Republican Party's nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.

He received his B.A. (magna cum laude) in Political Science from Princeton University in 1958 and his M.A. in International Relations from Yale University the following year. He attended the National War College in 1977, was a visiting professor at the Boston College Graduate School of Management 1978-79, and was a member of advisory boards at the Duke University Primate Center in 1986 and the University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce in 1989.

Jay and his wife of 56 years, Paddy, were driving forces in the construction of the Victims of Communism Memorial in Washington, D.C. He was chairman of the Board of the Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge. The Katzens moved to Alaska in 2009, where he continued his service as a National Park Ranger.