Yvonne Katrina Swett (née Lantos; born October 8, 1955) is the President of the Lantos Foundation. 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. She ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic candidate for Congress in

New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district covers the western, northern, and some southern parts of New Hampshire. It includes the state's second-largest city, Nashua, as well as the state capital, Concord. It is currently represented in the Un ...

during the 2002

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

midterm elections.

Early life, education and career

Swett is a first-generation American. Her father, the congressman

Tom Lantos Thomas Peter Lantos (born Tamás Péter Lantos; February 1, 1928 – February 11, 2008) was a Holocaust survivor and American politician who served as a U.S. representative from California from 1981 until his death in 2008. A member of the Demo ...

(D-CA), a survivor of the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, and her mother, Annette Tillemann Lantos, came to the United States from

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. 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 Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

there in 1974 at 18, and her Juris Doctor in 1976 from the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

Hastings College of Law The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a public law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the first law school of the University of California ...

. At 21, she joined the staff of then U.S. Senator Joe Biden's

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations ...

. In 2006, she earned her

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

with a focus on

Human Rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

and

United States Foreign Policy The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United States of America, including all the bureaus and offices in the United States Department of State, as mentioned in the ''Foreign Policy Agenda'' of the Department of State, are ...

from the

University of Southern Denmark The University of Southern Denmark ( da, Syddansk Universitet, lit=South Danish University, abbr. SDU) is a university in Denmark that has campuses located in Southern Denmark and on Zealand. The university offers a number of joint programmes in ...

. She is the wife of Ambassador and former Congressman

Richard Swett Richard Nelson Swett (born May 1, 1957) is an Politics of the United States, American politician from the U.S. state of New Hampshire who served as the U.S. representative for New Hampshire's 2nd congressional district from 1991 to 1995. He also ...

, vice president of Swett Associates, Inc., a consulting firm. Swett met Richard Swett at Yale, where she became a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

, largely through her interactions with

Jeffrey R. Holland Jeffrey Roy Holland (born December 3, 1940) is an American educator and religious leader. He served as the List of presidents of Brigham Young University, ninth President of Brigham Young University (BYU) and is a member of the Quorum of the Twe ...

. Katrina and Richard married in 1980. The couple have seven children and live in

Bow, New Hampshire Bow is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 8,229 at the 2020 census, up from 7,519 at the 2010 census, an increase of 9.4%. History The town was granted by the authorities of New Hampshire to Jonathan W ...

Awards

In 2009, Swett was awarded the Knight's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary The Hungarian Order of Merit ( hu, Magyar Érdemrend) is the fourth highest State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the O ...

for her efforts in setting up the Tom Lantos Institute in Budapest, continuing her 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 Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (; hu, Fidesz – Magyar Polgári Szövetség) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Hungary, led by Viktor Orbán. It was formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young ...

party for his rhetoric, what she considers antisemitic, anti-Muslim, and

antiziganist Anti-Romani sentiment (also antigypsyism, anti-Romanyism, Romaphobia, or Antiziganism) is hostility, prejudice, discrimination or racism which is specifically directed at Romani people (Roma, Sinti, Iberian Kale, Welsh Kale, Finnish Kale, Hora ...

. In 2016, the International Center for Law and Religion Studies and J. Reuben Clark Law School of

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

presented Swett the International Religious Liberty Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the promotion and preservation of religious freedom.

Political career

Swett ran two of her father's campaigns for Congress. She was a Congressional staffer, first as a

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

assistant and then as Deputy Counsel to the

Criminal Justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

Subcommittee of the

. She co-hosted a political talk show, ''Beyond Politics'' on

WMUR-TV WMUR-TV (channel 9) is a television station licensed to Manchester, New Hampshire, United States, broadcasting ABC programming to most of New Hampshire. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on South Commercial Street in do ...

Channel 9 with former

Assistant Secretary of State Assistant Secretary of State (A/S) is a title used for many executive positions in the United States Department of State, ranking below the under secretaries. A set of six assistant secretaries reporting to the under secretary for political affairs ...

Elizabeth Tamposi. She ran in 2002 against Republican incumbent U.S. Representative

Charles Bass Charles Foster Bass (born January 8, 1952) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for from 1995 to 2007 and 2011 to 2013. He is the son of Perkins Bass, ...

and received less than 41% of vote, losing by 16%. Swett was national co-chair of

Joe Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; born February 24, 1942) is an American politician, lobbyist, and attorney who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee for ...

's 2004 presidential race.Essay-Blog by Kos dated June 13, 2007
citing (both retrieved on June 20, 2007). She accused

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Wesley Clark Wesley Kanne Clark (born December 23, 1944) is a retired United States Army officer. He graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford, where he obtained a degree ...

of apostasy on the AUMF in the

Iraq War of 2003 The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

, and for having linked Al-Qaeda with Iraq. In 2006, she supported Lieberman's successful 2006 re-election campaign as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

against

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Ned Lamont Edward Miner Lamont Jr. (born January 3, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 89th governor of Connecticut. He has served in this position since January 9, 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a Greenw ...

and Republican nominee Alan Schlesinger.

2002 U.S. House of Representatives campaign

She ran for Congress in 2002, unsuccessfully attempting to recapture the seat previously held by her husband. General

endorsed her; he had known the Swetts when he was

SACEUR The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...

and they lived in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. She received financial support from her parents, Nancy Pelosi, John and Lisa Pritzker, a San Francisco Supervisor and her husband,

Warren Hellman F. Warren Hellman (July 25, 1934 – December 18, 2011) was an American investment banker and private equity investor, the co-founder of Hellman & Friedman, a multibillion-dollar private equity firm. Hellman also co-founded Hellman, Ferri Inve ...

, Herbert Sandler and

Marion Sandler Marion Osher Sandler (October 17, 1930 – June 1, 2012) was the co-CEO (with her husband Herbert Sandler) of Golden West Financial Corporation and World Savings Bank. In 2004, after 43 years running Golden West Financial Corporation, she w ...

, Steven Spielberg,

Kate Capshaw Kathleen Sue Spielberg (''née'' Nail; born November 3, 1953), known professionally as Kate Capshaw, is an American retired actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Willie Scott, an American nightclub singer and performer in ''Indiana Jon ...

, David Geffen, and other Californians.

2008 U.S. Senate campaign

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 The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

John E. Sununu. She began fundraising for the 2008 Senate campaign. After former Governor and 2002 nominee

Jeanne Shaheen Cynthia Jeanne Shaheen ( ; née Bowers, born January 28, 1947) is an American retired educator and politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Hampshire since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Shaheen served as the 78 ...

announced her candidacy, Swett withdrew and endorsed Shaheen, who later won the election.

2010 U.S. House of Representatives campaign

On January 14, 2010, Katrina Swett announced her candidacy for the Democratic Primary for Congress in

in the 2010 elections. Her more left-leaning opponent,

Ann McLane Kuster Ann L. McLane Kuster (born September 5, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously worked as a lobbyist. Early life and education Kuster was b ...

, won the primary election, but Kuster lost in the general election to her Republican opponent,

. Ann Kuster won the general election in the 2012 U.S. House of Representatives campaign.

References

External links

*
Campaign contributions
at

OpenSecrets.org OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

*
Leadership
Promoting Human Rights Worldwide - Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice {{DEFAULTSORT:Swett, Katrina 1955 births Living people Latter Day Saints from New Hampshire Converts to Mormonism from Judaism Yale University alumni University of California, Hastings College of the Law alumni American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent New Hampshire Democrats Candidates in the 2008 United States elections Candidates in the 2010 United States elections 21st-century American politicians Candidates in the 2002 United States elections Tufts University faculty Employees of the United States Senate People from Bow, New Hampshire