UNITED STATES SENATE
SUBJECT: Ambassadorial Nomination: Certificate of
Demonstrated Competence — Foreign Service
Act, Section 304(a)(4)
POST: Kingdom of Sweden
CANDIDATE: Erik D. Ramanathan
Erik D. Ramanathan is Immediate Past Chairman of the Board of Heluna Health, a national public health non-profit serving more than 80 million Americans with over 500 programs addressing population health and community resilience issues including maternal and child health, nutrition, literacy, supportive housing, infectious disease, addiction, and front-line and supportive efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. He was previously Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Program on the Legal Profession, the world’s leading research program and think tank on the evolving legal profession, and Board Chair at Immigration Equality, the national legal services and advocacy organization for LGBTQ+ and HIV+ immigrants and asylees. His long record as a leader and change agent in a broad portfolio of legal, non-profit and public sector organizations makes him well-qualified to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden.
Prior to dedicating his career to non-profit and public service work, Mr. Ramanathan was Senior Vice President – General Counsel of ImClone Systems, a public biotechnology firm sold to Eli Lilly after a successful recovery, in which he played a pivotal role, from extensive legal and governance challenges. His interests in health care and governance were sparked by several years in the preeminent health care practice at law firm Proskauer Rose LLP. Mr. Ramanathan has also served as chair of the non-profit board of New Politics Leadership Academy, which works with military and civilian service veterans interested in exploring a second service in politics.
Mr. Ramanathan earned a B.A. at Johns Hopkins University and a J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School. He has been an LGBTQ+ community leader for more than three decades and is the recipient of honors including the Global Vision Award for service to the LGBTQ+ and HIV+ immigrant and asylee communities.