Mary Harper is a journalist and author specializing in Africa, with a particular focus on Somalia and the wider Horn of Africa. Currently the BBC’s Africa Editor, she has reported on events across the continent since the early 1990s. She is the author of Everything You Have Told Me is True: The Many Faces of Al Shabaab (Hurst) and Getting Somalia Wrong? Faith, War and Hope in a Shattered State (Zed Books).

She has contributed chapters to other books and writes for academic journals and various media outlets, including The Guardian, The Economist, and The Washington Post. Her research has been commissioned by organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union, and others, covering topics like Somalia, Islamist extremism, media, sea piracy, and migration. She also serves as an expert witness in Somali-related legal cases and holds board positions in multiple organizations connected to Africa and beyond.

As a fellow of the Rift Valley Institute and the Heritage Institute for Policy Studies, she is a frequent speaker at conferences, literary festivals, and other events, and has extensive experience as a moderator.

Her academic background includes degrees from Cambridge University and the School of Oriental and African Studies. She is fluent in English, French, Portuguese, and Wolof.