Katrina Swett

{{short description|American politician}}

{{Infobox officeholder
|name        = Katrina Swett
|image       = Katrina Lantos Swett at International Parliamentary Coalition in Oslo.jpg
|birth_name  = Yvonne Katrina Lantos
|birth_date  = {{birth date and age|1955|10|8}}
|birth_place = [[San Francisco, California]], U.S.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/yvonne_catherine_lantos_born_1955_5580400|title=Yvonne Catherine Lantos, Born 10/08/1955 in California &#124;CaliforniaBirthIndex.org|website=www.californiabirthindex.org|accessdate=Oct 4, 2019}}</ref>
|death_date  = 
|death_place = 
|party       = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse      = {{marriage|[[Richard Swett]]|1980}}
|children    = 7
|education   = [[Yale University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br/>[[University of California, Hastings]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])<br/>[[University of Southern Denmark]] ([[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])
}}
'''Yvonne Katrina Swett''' (née '''Lantos'''; born October 8, 1955) is the President of the [[Lantos Foundation]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lantosfoundation.org/about-leadership/|title=About Leadership|website=Lantos Foundation|language=en-US|access-date=2017-07-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite video |title=Q&A with Katrina Lantos Swett – C-SPAN Video Library |quote=<p>Katrina Lantos Swett talked about the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, and her late father, Representative Tom Lantos (D-CA), who founded the bipartisan [[Congressional Human Rights Caucus]]. She told the story of her parents' escape from German labor camps and eventual immigration to the U.S. from Hungary. Other topics included her concerns over Russian leadership pulling the country away from democracy, and her admiration for the [[Dalai Lama]]'s contributions to human rights. She discussed her failed campaign to represent New Hampshire's 2nd Congressional district in 2010, her husband Richard Swett's service as ambassador to Denmark and representation of New Hampshire's 2nd district for two terms, and raising seven children.</p><p>Katrina Lantos Swett teaches foreign policy at [[Tufts University]], and is President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice. She received her undergraduate degree from Yale University, her J.D. from the University of California, and her Ph.D. in History from the University of Southern Denmark.</p> |url=http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/305009-1 |accessdate=2012-04-26}}(video of interview)</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 15, 2012 |publisher=[[C-SPAN]] |title=Katrina Lantos Swett, President, Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice |url=http://www.c-span.org/video/?305009-1/qa-katrina-lantos-swett |accessdate=2014-12-01}}(rough transcript of interview)</ref> She is also an American educator and the former chair of the [[U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom]] from 2012 to 2013, and then in 2014 to 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.uscirf.gov/about-uscirf/former-commissioners|title=Former Commissioners|date=Apr 11, 2008|website=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom|accessdate=Oct 4, 2019}}</ref> She ran unsuccessfully as the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] candidate for Congress in [[New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district]] during the 2002 [[United States]] midterm elections.

==Early life, education and career==
Swett is a first-generation American. Her father, the congressman [[Tom Lantos]] (D-CA), a [[Holocaust survivor|survivor]] of the [[Holocaust]], and her mother, Annette Tillemann Lantos, came to the United States from [[Hungary]] after [[World War II]]. Katrina Swett has a sister, Annette.

She skipped high school, entered college at 14, and transferred to Yale where her older sister Annette was a student. She earned a degree in [[political science]] there in 1974 at 18, and her [[Juris Doctor]] in 1976 from the [[University of California]], [[Hastings College of Law]].<ref>{{cite web |accessdate=2012-04-29 |url=http://www.nec.edu/about-nec/trustees/trustee-biographies |title=Trustee Biographies &mdash; New England College |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015142553/http://www.nec.edu/about-nec/trustees/trustee-biographies |archive-date=2012-10-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref> At 21, she joined the staff of then [[U.S. Senator]] [[Joe Biden]]'s [[Senate Judiciary Committee]].<ref name=Beach_1991>{{cite news
 |accessdate=2012-04-29
 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2209&dat=19910106&id=guZRAAAAIBAJ&pg=6986,701606
 |pages=A1, A4
 |date=January 6, 1991
 |newspaper=[[The Telegraph (Nashua)|The Telegraph]]
 |location=[[Nashua, New Hampshire]]
 |volume=5 |issue=41
 |first=Pendleton |last=Beach
 |title=Lantos-Swett seemingly does it all}}</ref> In 2006, she earned her [[Ph.D.]] in [[history]] with a focus on [[Human Rights]] and [[United States Foreign Policy]] from the [[University of Southern Denmark]].<ref name="swettforsenate.com" />

She is the wife of Ambassador and former Congressman [[Richard Swett]], vice president of Swett Associates, Inc., a consulting firm.<ref name="aboutswett">{{Cite web|url=http://www.swettassociates.com/aboutus.htm|title=About Us|work=Swett Associates official web site|access-date=2007-06-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322224433/http://www.swettassociates.com/aboutus.htm|archive-date=2007-03-22|url-status=dead}}</ref> Swett met Richard Swett at Yale, where she became a member of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]], largely through her interactions with [[Jeffrey R. Holland]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.deseret.com/faith|title=Faith – Deseret News|website=www.deseret.com|accessdate=Oct 4, 2019}}</ref> Katrina and Richard married in 1980.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nhpr.org/live-event/spring-music-live-houston-symphonys-subversive-sardonic-shostakovich|title=Spring For Music Live: The Houston Symphony's Subversive, Sardonic Shostakovich|website=www.nhpr.org|accessdate=Oct 4, 2019}}</ref> The couple have seven children and live in [[Bow, New Hampshire]].<ref name="swettforsenate.com">{{cite web
 |url=http://swettforsenate.com/katrina.asp
 |title=Katrina Swett for Senate – 2008. (campaign website)
 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114172853/http://swettforsenate.com/katrina.asp
 |archivedate=2007-11-14
 |accessdate=2012-04-29
}}</ref>

== Awards ==
In 2009, Swett was awarded the Knight's Cross of the [[Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary]] for her efforts in setting up the Tom Lantos Institute in Budapest, continuing her [[Tom Lantos#Hungarian minorities|late father's work]] for the benefit of ethnic minorities there. In 2016, in the company of at least 100 other recipients of Hungarian state awards, Swett returned the Knight's Cross in protest of the Hungarian government's commendation of [[Zsolt Bayer]], a writer, publisher, public speaker, and member of the [[Fidesz]] party for his rhetoric, what she considers antisemitic, anti-Muslim, and [[Antiziganism|antiziganist]].<ref>{{cite news
 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37272238
 |title=Hungary award returned after 'racist' writer honoured
 |work=BBC News
 |date=2016-09-04
 |accessdate=2016-09-04
}}</ref>

In 2016, the [[International Center for Law and Religion Studies]] and [[J. Reuben Clark Law School]] of [[Brigham Young University]] presented Swett the International Religious Liberty Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the promotion and preservation of religious freedom.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.iclrs.org/index.php?pageId=1&linkId=261&contentId=2196&blurbId=67732|title=Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett Receives 2016 International Religious Liberty Award|website=International Center for Law and Religion Studies|access-date=2017-08-08}}</ref>

==Political career==
Swett ran two of [[Tom Lantos|her father's]] campaigns for Congress. She was a Congressional staffer, first as a [[Legislature|legislative]] assistant and then as Deputy [[Counsel]] to the [[Criminal Justice]] Subcommittee of the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]].<ref name="aboutswett"/>

She co-hosted a political talk show, ''Beyond Politics'' on [[WMUR-TV]] Channel 9 with former [[Assistant Secretary of State]] [[Elizabeth Tamposi]].<ref name="aboutswett" /> She ran in 2002 against Republican incumbent U.S. Representative [[Charles Bass]] and received less than 41% of vote, losing by 16%.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/collections/united-states-elections-web-archive/about-this-collection/|title=About this Collection &#124; United States Elections Web Archive &#124; Digital Collections &#124; Library of Congress|website=Library of Congress|accessdate=Oct 4, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nhpr.org/post/water-crisis-looms-thirsty-planet|title=Water Crisis Looms For A Thirsty Planet|website=www.nhpr.org|date=24 April 2012 |accessdate=Oct 4, 2019}}</ref><ref>[http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2004/nh102002/nh1002main.html post by Eric M. Appleman at GWU web site]</ref>

Swett was national co-chair of [[Joe Lieberman]]'s 2004 presidential race.<ref name="dailykos">[http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/6/13/142330/498 Essay-Blog by Kos dated June 13, 2007], citing {{cite news |first=Eric |last=Moskowitz |title=Joe's N.H. supporters still loyal, Lieberman allies distraught at loss |newspaper=[[Concord Monitor]] |date=August 13, 2006 |url=http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060813/REPOSITORY/608130328 |access-date=February 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511064606/http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20060813%2FREPOSITORY%2F608130328 |archive-date=May 11, 2008 |url-status=dead }} (both retrieved on June 20, 2007).</ref> She accused [[General (United States)|General]] [[Wesley Clark]] of apostasy on the [[Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002|AUMF]] in the [[Iraq War of 2003]], and for having linked [[Al-Qaeda]] with Iraq.<ref name=Wyatt_2004>{{cite news
 |title=Tape Shows General Clark Linking Iraq and Al Qaeda
 |last=Wyatt |first=Edward
 |page=A16
 |date=January 11, 2004
 |location=New York, N.Y.
 |issn=0362-4331
 |id=ProQuest document ID 92956858{{ProQuest|92956858}}
 |newspaper=ProQuest Historical Newspapers: [[The New York Times]] (1851–2008)
}}</ref> In 2006, she supported Lieberman's successful 2006 re-election campaign as an [[Independent (politics)|Independent]] against [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Ned Lamont]]<ref name="dailykos" /> and Republican nominee [[Alan Schlesinger]].<ref>[http://www.answers.com/topic/connecticut-united-states-senate-election-2006 United States Senate election in Connecticut, 2006: Information and Much More from Answers.com], citing [[United States Senate election in Connecticut, 2006]]</ref>

===2002 U.S. House of Representatives campaign===
{{see also|United States House of Representatives elections in New_Hampshire, 2002#New Hampshire}}
She ran for Congress in 2002, unsuccessfully attempting to recapture the seat previously held by her husband. General [[Wesley Clark]] endorsed her; he had known the Swetts when he was [[SACEUR]] and they lived in [[Denmark]].<ref name=Wyatt_2004/> She received financial support from her parents, [[Nancy Pelosi]], [[Pritzker family|John and Lisa Pritzker]], a [[San Francisco Board of Supervisors|San Francisco Supervisor]] and her husband, [[Warren Hellman]], [[Herbert Sandler]] and [[Marion Sandler]], [[Steven Spielberg]], [[Kate Capshaw]], [[David Geffen]], and other [[Californian people|Californians]].<ref>{{cite news
 |last=Epstein |authorlink=Edward Jay Epstein |first=Edward
 |title=Lantos stumps hard for daughter's campaign; Bay Area funds help fill Katrina Swett's New Hampshire war chest.
 |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]
 |date=September 9, 2002
 |page=A5
 |accessdate=2012-04-27
 |url=http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=News&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=BIC1&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CA91178670&mode=view&userGroupName=fairfax_main&jsid=f5a040c40370b03d03926a08c3452b66
 |id=<nowiki>GALE|A91178670</nowiki>
 |format=fee, via [[Fairfax County Public Library]]
}}. [[Gale (publisher)|Gale]] Biography In Context. {{subscription required}}</ref>

===2008 U.S. Senate campaign===
[[File: Katrina and Dick Swett.jpg| right|thumb |Katrina and Dick Swett, at 2008 Milford Labor Day parade]]
{{See also|United States Senate election in New Hampshire, 2008}}
On January 18, 2007, Katrina Swett announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate in the 2008 elections in New Hampshire, in hopes of being the Democratic nominee to unseat [[incumbent]] [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[John E. Sununu]]. She began fundraising for the 2008 Senate campaign. After former Governor and 2002 nominee [[Jeanne Shaheen]] announced her candidacy, Swett withdrew and endorsed Shaheen,<ref>[http://www.wcsh6.com/news/regional/article.aspx?storyid=70957 Katrina Swett Drops out of NH Senate Race"]{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [[WCSH-TV]] 6 September 21, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2007</ref> who later won the election.

===2010 U.S. House of Representatives campaign===
{{See also|United States House of Representatives elections in New Hampshire, 2010#District 2}}

On January 14, 2010, Katrina Swett announced her candidacy for the Democratic Primary for Congress in [[New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district]] in the 2010 elections.<ref>[http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100115/NEWS01/1150323/1001 "Swett joins House race"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021183226/http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20100115%2FNEWS01%2F1150323%2F1001 |date=2013-10-21 }}, ''Concord Monitor'', January 15, 2010</ref> Her more left-leaning opponent, [[Ann McLane Kuster]], won the [[primary election]],<ref>{{cite news
 |newspaper=[[USA Today]]
 |title=Liberal Democrats oust party stalwart in N.H. House primary
 |first=Kathy |last=Kiely
 |date=September 15, 2010
 |url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2010/09/liberal-democrats-oust-party-stalwart-in-nh-house-primary/1#.T5nryNnODAI
 |accessdate=2012-04-26
 |quote=The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a group founded to promote the candidacies of Democrats at the leftward edge of the party's spectrum, is celebrating a big victory tonight in a New Hampshire Democratic primary.  PCCC-backed Ann McLane Kuster defeated longtime Democratic activist Katrina Swett in a race to pick a nominee for the seat being vacated by Rep. Paul Hodes.
}}</ref> but Kuster lost in the general election to her Republican opponent, [[Charles Bass]].

Ann Kuster won the general election in the [[United States House of Representatives elections, 2012|2012 U.S. House of Representatives]] campaign.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{CongLinks | congbio= | votesmart=42846 | fec=H0NH02215 | congress= }}<!--
Links formerly displayed via the CongLinks template:
* [http://www.c-spanvideo.org/person/1006894 Appearances] on [[C-SPAN]] programs
* -->
*[http://www.opensecrets.org/races/summary.php?id=NH02&cycle=2010 Campaign contributions] at [[OpenSecrets.org]]
*{{C-SPAN|29127}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120420050648/http://www.lantosfoundation.org/About_Lantos_Foundation_Leadership.asp Leadership] Promoting Human Rights Worldwide - Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swett, Katrina}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saints from New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Converts to Mormonism from Judaism]]
[[Category:Yale University alumni]]
[[Category:University of California College of the Law, San Francisco alumni]]
[[Category:American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:New Hampshire Democrats]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 2008 United States elections]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 2010 United States elections]]
[[Category:21st-century American politicians]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 2002 United States elections]]
[[Category:Tufts University faculty]]
[[Category:Employees of the United States Senate]]
[[Category:People from Bow, New Hampshire]]