Career
Harkin is an attorney and was one of the first women in the United States to be elected as a prosecutor when, in 1972, she was elected to the office of county attorney of Story County, Iowa. She served as a deputy counsel for the United States Department of Agriculture prior to joining the Washington lobbying firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Limited Liability Partnership in 1983. In 1993, President Bill Clinton named her Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (Overseas Private Investment Corporation).
Ruth Harkin left the government and became United Technologies" Senior Vice President for international affairs and government relations in April 1997, leading their Washington District of Columbia office.
In 2002, she became a Director of ConocoPhillips. A Minnesota native, she has been married to the former United States Senator Tom Harkin Senator Harkin since 1968 and has two daughters, Amy, born in 1976, and Jenny, born in 1981.
On July 2, 2007, Harkin announced her endorsement of Hillary Clinton for President.
