Johanna "Hannah" Arendt (Linden-Limmer, Hannover, Germany,14 October 1906 - New York City, NY, 4 December 1975) was a German-American political theorist.

She worked, among other things, as a journalist and high school teacher and published important works on political philosophy

Though often described as a philosopher, she rejected that label on the grounds that philosophy is concerned with "man in the singular" and instead described herself as a political theorist because her work centers on the fact that "men, not Man, live on the earth and inhabit the world." Her works deal with the nature of power, and the subjects of politics, direct democracy, authority, and totalitarianism. The Hannah Arendt Prize is named in her honour.