Katrina Lantos Swett Appointed to the United States Commission on Internatio​nal Religious Freedom

The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice is pleased to announce that Katrina Lantos Swett has been appointed to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). The appointment was made on Monday, March 26th, 2012 by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The USCIRF was created by Congress as part of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 and reauthorized by Congress in 2011. The nine Commissioners of this independent, bipartisan advisory body are appointed by the President of the United States and the leadership of both parties in the House and Senate. The Commission’s principalresponsibilities are to review the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom internationally and to make policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress.

“As a daughter of Holocaust survivors, I have a profound connection to the issue of religious freedom and a deep understanding of the role that such freedoms can play in our country’s foreign policy decisions.  I am deeply honored to be appointed to the USCIRF and look forward to serving alongside my esteemed fellow Commissioners,” Swettsaid.

Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett established the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice in 2008 to carry on the legacy of her late father, Congressman Tom Lantos the cofounder of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus and the only survivor of the Holocaust ever to serve in the US Congress.  Dr. Lantos Swett currently serves as the Foundation’sPresident and Chief Executive Officer. She teaches Human Rights and American Foreign Policy at Tufts University.  Katrina has also taught at the University of Southern Denmark, served as Director of the Graduate Program in Public Policy at New England College, and worked for then-Senator Joe Biden as Deputy Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee – Criminal Justice Subcommittee.

Swett graduated from Yale University with a degree in Political Science.  She received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and later earned a PhD in history at The University of Southern Denmark on the topic of Human Rights and American Foreign Policy.

Katrina Lantos Swett is married to Richard Swett, former U.S. Congressman and U.S. Ambassador to Denmark. They are the proud parents of seven children and two grandchildren.  The Swetts reside in Bow, New Hampshire.