Richard Swett
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Richard "Dick" Swett (born May 1, 1957) is an American politician from the U.S. state of New Hampshire.
Swett was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and moved to New Hampshire with his family as a child. He attended Yale University and became an architect. Swett became active in the United States Democratic Party and eventually began a political career. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1990 from the second district of New Hampshire. He was re-elected in 1992 but lost his re-election bid in 1994 to Republican Charles Bass.
In 1996, Swett ran as the Democratic Party candidate for a seat in the United States Senate from New Hampshire, against incumbent Republican Robert C. Smith but was narrowly defeated. On the night of the election, in what may have been the most famous moment of his political career, many American media networks falsely projected that Swett had won.
In 1998, Swett was appointed by Bill Clinton to be the United States ambassador to Denmark. He served in that position until 2001, and then moved back to New Hampshire. In 2002, his wife, Katrina Swett, daughter of California's 12th District Representative Tom Lantos, ran against NH's 2nd District incumbent Charles Bass and lost by a margin of 57% to 40%. Dick and Katrina currently reside in Bow, New Hampshire with their children.
| Preceded by Charles G. Douglas III |
United States Representative for the 2nd Congressional District of New Hampshire 1991–1995 |
Succeeded by Charles F. Bass |
| Preceded by Edward Elliott Elson |
U.S. Ambassador to Denmark 1998–2001 |
Succeeded by Stuart A. Bernstein |
