Marie Harf

Marie Elizabeth Harf (born June 15, 1981) is a liberal political commentator for the Fox News Channel and former deputy campaign manager for policy and communications for the Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) presidential campaign. She served as the Senior advisor of Strategic Communications to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the United States Department of State, leading the Iran nuclear negotiations communications strategy. Harf also was Acting Spokesperson and Deputy Spokesperson of the State Department. Early life Harf is the daughter of Jane Ax Harf of Granville, Ohio, and James E. Harf of St. Louis, Missouri, and is a native of Granville, Ohio. She graduated from Granville High School in 1999. She graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with a BA in Political Science with concentrations in Jewish Studies and Russian and Eastern European Studies, and then received her master's degree in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia, where her thesis examined the prospects for continued regime stability in Saudi Arabia. Career Harf began her career at the Directorate of Intelligence at the CIA as an analyst focusing on Middle Eastern leadership issues. She later became the media spokesperson of the CIA. During the 2012 presidential election, she reportedly helped craft U.S. President Barack Obama's national security and communications strategy, and also served as campaign spokesperson on national security issues. In June 2013, Harf was appointed Deputy Spokesperson for the Department of State, where she served as deputy under Jen Psaki.