Erik Ramanathan

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Erik Ramanathan
United States Ambassador to Sweden
Assumed office
January 20, 2022
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byKen Howery
Personal details
Born
Erik Douglas Newton
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseRanesh Ramanathan
Children1
EducationJohns Hopkins University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)

Erik Douglas Ramanathan[1] (né Newton) is an American attorney, philanthropist, and political fundraiser who is serving as United States ambassador to Sweden under President Joe Biden.

Education[edit]

Ramanathan earned a Bachelor of Arts in behavioral sciences and biology from Johns Hopkins University in 1991 and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1996. He was a leader among LGBT activists at Johns Hopkins.[2]

Career[edit]

From 1996 to 2000, Ramanathan worked as an attorney at Proskauer Rose in New York City. From 2000 to 2006, he was the senior vice president, general counsel and CCO of ImClone Systems, which was later acquired by Eli Lilly and Company. From 2001 to 2010, he was chairman of the board of directors of Immigration Equality. He was also a trustee of the Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign. From 2009 to 2012, Ramanathan was the executive director of the Harvard Law School Center on the Legal Profession and senior fellow from 2013 to 2015.[3] He was co-chair of the finance cabinet for Congressman Seth Moulton's 2016 and 2018 re-election campaigns. He was also a member of the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign's national finance committee.[4][5][6]

Ambassador to Sweden[edit]

On September 22, 2021, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Ramanathan to be the next United States ambassador to Sweden.[4] On October 4, 2021, his nomination was sent to the Senate.[7] Hearings on his nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on November 2, 2021. On December 15, 2021, his nomination was reported out of committee.[8] On December 18, 2021, his nomination was confirmed in the Senate by voice vote.[9] He presented his credentials to king Carl XVI Gustaf on January 20, 2022.[10] His tenure as ambassador has been focused on the Russo-Ukrainian War and Sweden's application for membership in Nato.[2]

Personal[edit]

He is married to Ranesh Ramanathan, a partner in the Boston office of Kirkland & Ellis.[11] They met when they were both studying organic chemistry at university.[2] He has adopted his partner’s last name. The Boston-based couple has a daughter, Violet,[12] born in 2005 from surrogacy,[11] who as of 2022 attends a high school in Stockholm.[2]

He visited Sweden often prior to becoming U.S. ambassador, enjoying Stockholm nightlife in the summers.[2]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Protocol Department (2022). Stockholm Diplomatic List (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 31, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e Torén Björling, Sanna (July 4, 2022). "USA:s ambassadör i Sverige: Oroad över utvecklingen i USA". Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  3. ^ "Erik Ramanathan". Revolving Door Project. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "President Biden Announces Key Nominations". The White House. September 22, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  5. ^ "Joe Biden's presidential campaign is missing only one thing: Joe Biden". the Guardian. October 9, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  6. ^ "Biden taps two fundraisers, ex state rep as ambassadors". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  7. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. October 4, 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ^ "Business Meeting". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. December 15, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  9. ^ "PN1226 - Nomination of Erik D. Ramanathan for Department of State, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". www.congress.gov. December 18, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  10. ^ @USAmbSweden (January 20, 2022). "It was a great honor to present my credentials. I'm ready to get to work with the great team @USEmbSweden representing the #US here in #Sweden as Ambassador!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 20, 2022 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ a b "No, Biden's Nominee for Ambassador to Sweden Erik Ramanathan is Not an Indian American But is Married to One". American Kahani. September 24, 2021. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  12. ^ "My daughter painted this last weekend and I wanted to share it on this #TransgenderDayofVisibility. We see, celebrate and support all our transgender and gender-diverse brethren". Twitter. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Ambassador to Sweden
2022–present 		Incumbent
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