[1][2] John Hubert Kelly was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, on July 20, 1939.

In 1973, he was detailed to the United States Department of Defense as an expert on Thailand, and then spent 1974 working in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.

In 1981–82 he was the Una Chapman Cox Fellow and Diplomatic Associate at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University and worked on French defense and international terrorism.

[3][6] During this time Kelly played a minor role in the Iran-Contra scandal, where he interacted with key figures such as George Shultz, John Poindexter, and Oliver North.

[6] Bush next nominated Kelly as United States Ambassador to Finland; he presented his credentials on December 20, 1991, and held this position until July 5, 1994.