Michael Alan Ratney[2] (born 1961) is an American diplomat who was the United States ambassador to Saudi Arabia from April 2023 to January 2025.

Prior to his appointment as Ambassador, he served as the Acting Deputy Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service Institute.

He served as the State Department’s acting deputy assistant secretary for the Levant and Israel and Palestinian Affairs, and was the U.S. special envoy for Syria.

He was the deputy assistant secretary for international media in the State Department’s Bureau of Public Affairs.

Other assignments include serving as deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Doha, Qatar, as well as tours in Mexico City, Baghdad, Beirut, Casablanca, Bridgetown, and Washington, D.C.[6][7] On April 22, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Ratney to be the next United States ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

[6] Ratney is married to fellow Foreign Service officer Karen Sasahara; she has served as the US ambassador to Kuwait since November 2023.