John James Kinley

A former Sea Cadet, Kinley joined the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve at age 18 and served with the Canadian Merchant Marine and the Canadian Navy in the North Atlantic and Caribbean during the Second World War. He remained with the Naval Reserve following the war while gaining an engineering degree from Dalhousie University and a masters in business and engineering administration from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Kinley became a successful engineer and business executive in Lunenburg, with interests including Lunenburg Foundry and Engineering, where he was chairman and CEO and Lunenburg Marine Railway and Lunenburg Foundry Garage, both of which Kinley was president. His association with the Navy lasted his entire career.

After retiring from the reserve in 1959 as lieutenant-commander, he served in various capacities with the Navy League of Canada, including a term as president in 1980-81 and many years as a member of the National Advisory Board. He was the director of the Maritime Provinces Chamber of Commerce and the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council. He was a founding member, President, and Chairman of the Offshore Trade Association of Nova Scotia, founding Director of the Canadian Foundry Association, the first Chair of the Bluenose Atlantic Coastal Action Program. Widely respected for his community work and involvement in a number of environmental activities, Kinley was a popular choice to succeed Lloyd Crouse as lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia. He served as Nova Scotia's 29th lieutenant-governor 1994-2000.

Kinley was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, and was appointed as a member of the Order of Nova Scotia in 2002.