Mark Pfeifle
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Mark Pfeifle (born March 30, 1972) was a top national security advisor and communicator for President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
. Pfeifle served as deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for strategic communications and global outreach at the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
from 2007 to 2009. Pfeifle is the founder and president of Off the Record Strategies, a public relations and strategy company, and he is a blogger for the
Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...
. Pfeifle was the principal interagency coordinator for national security outreach and communication strategy from 2007 to the end of the George W. Bush administration. Pfeifle led the successful communication effort to promote Bush’s “surge” of U.S. forces into Iraq, including a month-long stint in Baghdad. He worked on international communication initiatives to de-legitimize al Qaeda, to stop Iran from enriching uranium, to denuclearize North Korea, to achieve fair and free trade agreements and to advocate the causes of freedom, liberty and human rights to those suffering under brutal dictatorships. On January 13, 2009,
Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...
Commander and former Iraq War spokesman and then-Lt. Gen.
William B. Caldwell IV William B. "Bill" Caldwell IV (born January 24, 1954) is a retired United States Army officer and the current President of Georgia Military College. Caldwell's final military assignment was as Commanding General of United States Army North, also ...
awarded Pfeifle the Army’s
Outstanding Civilian Service Award The Meritorious Public Service Medal formerly the Outstanding Civilian Service Award is the third highest honor within the public service awards scheme of the Department of the Army that can be awarded to a private citizen. Eligibility The Secret ...
for “dramatically improved communication planning and strategies...in support of the Global War on Terror.” In July 2009, Pfeifle created a stir in the online and tech community when he called for
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
to be considered for the
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
for its assistance in helping the people of
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. Pfeifle wrote in the
Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper b ...
that "When traditional journalists were forced to leave the country, Twitter became a window for the world to view hope, heroism, and horror. It became the assignment desk, the reporter, and the producer. And, because of this, Twitter and its creators are worthy of being considered for the Nobel Peace Prize."


Career

From 1997 to 2001, Pfeifle helped lay the groundwork to elect Bush, by serving as deputy communications director at the
Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...
. From 2001 to 2004, as communication director and press secretary for Interior Secretary
Gale Norton Gale Ann Norton (born March 11, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 48th United States Secretary of the Interior under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2006. A member of the Republican Party, she previously serve ...
, Pfeifle created messages to pass energy and conservation legislation and the administration’s Healthy Forest Initiative. While at Interior, his official duties were quickly turned upside-down, when he experienced the violence of September 11 first-hand as one of the first communication advisors sent to Ground Zero in New York City. Pfeifle took a second leave from Interior to become communications director for the
2004 Republican National Convention The 2004 Republican National Convention took place from August 30 to September 2, 2004, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The convention is one of a series of Republican National Convention, historic quadrennial meetings at w ...
-- an event resulting in underwhelming returns. The convention produced 3400 TV, print, radio and Internet interviews. The event had modest success, with a powerful online operation that attracted more than 40 million web visitors and the first-ever “Bloggers’ Corner” for web journalists. Recognizing the importance of Hispanic outreach, he started the first-ever daily Spanish-language press briefings at a national convention. In 2005, Pfeifle directed the Social Security Information Center at the
U.S. Department of Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government departments. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and ...
, leading the communication effort for the president’s arduous attempt to fix the Social Security system. Later that year, Pfeifle was assigned to the White House to focus on communication strategy for the Global War on Terror. He also was called shortly after for a short tour as a senior communications advisor for Defense Secretary
Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was appointed by President George W. Bush and retained b ...
. In the spring of 2009, Pfeifle briefly returned to North Dakota to set up a rapid response effort to help citizens during the Red River Valley flooding near Fargo, ND. In May 2012, Pfeifle debated at the
Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest unive ...
on social media and social activism. In December 2023, Pfeifle delivered the commencement address at his alma mater, the
University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...
. Pfeifle told the students: “Help each other. Remember those who gave us a hand along this journey. Say yes to new skills and never stop learning. Expose yourself to ideas you don’t necessarily agree with. Learn from the mistakes you made along the way and be ready for those moments when it all comes together.”


Personal background

Pfeifle grew up in
Wishek, North Dakota Wishek ( ) is a city in McIntosh County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 864 at the 2020 census. History Wishek was platted in 1898 when the railroad was extended to that point. A post office has been in operation at Wishek s ...
. His first venture into journalism was at age 10 – authoring a nine-inch story about the local Mayville-Portland, North Dakota, Babe Ruth and American Legion baseball tournament. He graduated from the
University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...
with a degree in communications and was sports editor of the school’s newspaper. His first professional work was as the manager of a tiny radio station, KDRQ Radio AM 1330, in Wishek. Shortly after he became the marketing and advertising director of the
Grand Forks Air Force Base Grand Forks Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in northeastern North Dakota, located north of Emerado, North Dakota, Emerado and west of Grand Forks, North Dakota, Grand Forks. The host unit is the 319th Air Base ...
newspaper and was a stringer and freelancer for The Associated Press and USA Today.Northwestern Kellogg School of Management’s annual Tech Conference, Evanston, Ill
"Social Media meets Social Change: The Retweet Revolution?"
“Kellogg Tech Conference”, April 9, 2011


References


External links


Off the Record Strategies
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pfeifle, Mark 1972 births Living people People from McIntosh County, North Dakota George W. Bush administration personnel University of North Dakota alumni United States deputy national security advisors