27 Facts About Jane Harman

Jane Margaret Harman is an American former politician who served as the US representative for from 1993 to 1999 and again from 2001 to 2011.

Jane Harman succeeded former US representative Lee Hamilton and was the first ever woman to lead the organization.

Jane Harman stepped down in February 2021 after a decade, and is a distinguished scholar and president emerita.

Jane Harman's father was born in Poland and escaped from Nazi Germany in 1935; he worked as a medical doctor.

Jane Harman's mother was born in the United States and was the first in her family to receive a college education.

Jane Harman's family moved to Los Angeles, California when she was 4 and there she attended Los Angeles public schools, graduating from University High School in 1962.

Jane Harman continued her studies at Harvard Law School, where she earned her Juris Doctor degree in 1969.

Jane Harman became a special counsel to the Department of Defense from 1979 to 1980.

Jane Harman was first elected to Congress in 1992 and became the first Smith College graduate to be elected to Congress.

From 1993 to 1999, Jane Harman represented California's 36th district, serving in the 103rd, 104th, and 105th Congresses.

Jane Harman did not run for the 106th United States Congress in 1998, instead entering the 1998 California gubernatorial race.

Jane Harman made numerous congressional fact-finding missions to hotspots around the world, including North Korea, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Guantanamo Bay.

Jane Harman received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal in 1998, the CIA Agency Seal Medal in 2007, and the CIA Director's Award, and the Director of National Intelligence Distinguished Public Service Medal in 2011.

Jane Harman is a tenacious pro-Israeli, who used to have close ties to the US intelligence community.

Jane Harman resigned in February 2011, to head the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center, a foreign policy think tank.

Jane Harman denied the allegations, and called for the government to release the full transcript of the wire-tapped conversation, something they never did.

Jane Harman has combined a moderate stance on economic, trade, and foreign policy issues with liberal stances on social issues.

Jane Harman was a co-sponsor of the Armenian genocide recognition resolution bill in 2007.

Jane Harman's argument was that while the genocide deserved recognition, it was not a good time to embarrass Turkey, given that country's role in moderating extremism in the Middle East.

Jane Harman served as a member of the Defense Policy Board, the State Department Foreign Affairs Policy Board, the Director of National Intelligence's Senior Advisory Group, and the Homeland Security Advisory Council.

Jane Harman was a member of the CIA External Advisory Board from 2011 to 2013.

Jane Harman is a Trustee of the Aspen Institute and an Honorary Trustee of the University of Southern California.

Jane Harman serves on the Presidential Debates Commission and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.

Jane Harman is a member of the Aspen Strategy Group, and serves on the Executive Committees of the Trilateral Commission and the Munich Security Conference.

Sidney Jane Harman retired in 2008 from Jane Harman Industries, purchased Newsweek magazine in 2010, and founded the Academy for Polymathic Study at USC before he died in April 2011.

Jane Harman maintains her residence in Venice Beach, California, and has homes in Washington, DC, and Aspen, Colorado.

Jane Harman was a good friend of Senator Dianne Feinstein, and was among the last people to visit Feinstein prior to her death in 2023.