Morgan D. Ortagus is a former senior American government official with over two decades of experience in diplomacy, national defense, and intelligence operations. She has held numerous high-ranking roles across multiple administrations, including: Deputy Presidential Special Envoy to the Middle East, Special Representative for Lebanon, Counselor to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, and Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State. Ms. Ortagus led the first direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon in 32 years, secured a ceasefire extension between Israel and Lebanon, negotiated the end of the 48-year UNIFIL mission, and was part of the Abraham Accords team that secured five historic peace agreements between Israel and Muslim-majority countries in 2020.
Ms. Ortagus served as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserves, where she was a Special Advisor to the Secretary of War. Her government assignments include serving as the Deputy U.S. Treasury Attaché to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and as a intelligence analyst at the U.S. Treasury in the Office of Intelligence and Analysis. Ms. Ortagus began her diplomatic career in 2007 at USAID, where she was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
In the private sector, Ms. Ortagus helped found two venture capital funds and worked in international banking and consulting in New York City. She was a national security contributor for Fox News and hosted “The Morgan Ortagus Show” on Sirius XM, a nationally syndicated weekly show focused on national security issues.
Ms. Ortagus earned a Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Arts in Government from Johns Hopkins University in 2013, where she completed an honors thesis on counterinsurgency. Ms. Ortagus earned her Bachelor of Science in Political Science, cum laude, from Florida Southern College.
