Marie Harf

Marie Elizabeth Harf (born June 15, 1981) is an American political commentator for the Fox News Channel and former deputy campaign manager for policy and communications for the Representative Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) presidential campaign. She served as the Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, leading the Iran nuclear negotiations communications strategy. Prior to that, Harf was Acting Spokesperson and Deputy Spokesperson for the United States Department of State.

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 for the CIA. After Obama's re-election to a second term of office, Harf was the press spokesperson for Chuck Hagel during his confirmation to be Secretary of Defense.

In April 2015, Bloomberg News reported that retiring U.S. Navy Rear Admiral John Kirby would soon be appointed Spokesperson for the Department of State, replacing Acting Spokesperson Marie Harf, who had also interviewed for the position. In 2013, Kirby was selected rather than Harf for the spokesperson position at the U.S. Department of Defense under Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.

Harf served as Acting Spokesperson until May 13, 2015, and on June 1, 2015, she began a new role as Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications to Secretary of State John Kerry, continuing her work leading the Iran nuclear negotiations communications strategy.

Personal life Harf married Joshua Lucas on April 14, 2012.