Mary Beth Long

Mary Beth Long (born August 20, 1963) is an American foreign policy expert, entrepreneur, and former U.S. government official. From 2007 to 2009, Long served as the first woman confirmed by the U.S. Senate as an Assistant Secretary of Defense, the first female civilian four-star military equivalent in the history of the Pentagon. She led the International Security Affairs (ISA) office in the Office of the Secretary of Defense responsible for policy for the Middle East, Europe, and Africa.

She was also the first woman ever to be appointed as Chair of NATO's High Level Group (HLG), the highest-level responsible for NATO's nuclear policy and reporting directly to the Secretary General of NATO. In 2016, the media identified Long as Secretary of Defense James Mattis' first choice for the position as Undersecretary of Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Long, who signed an open letter concerning President Trump's candidacy, did not receive the appointment despite disavowing the open letter during a November 2016 interview claiming Trump's foreign policy had become more "nuanced". Beginning Academic Year 2021, Long was appointed as a professor of practice at the Penn State School of International Affairs (SIA) teaching graduate courses on National Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Globalization.