Who is Vivek Ramaswamy, Trump's former political rival and to-be Department of Govt Efficiency chief?

Former biotech executive Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of this 2024 US presidential race on Tuesday (Jan 16) after his long shot bid caught attention but failed to catapult the Indian-American high enough in the Republican party's first nominating contest in Iowa. The 38-year-old then endorsed Trump as an “America-first” candidate who would have his full support, and now he is set to play a major role in US president-elect Trump's cabinet.

Trump, on Tuesday (Nov 12) announced that Ramaswamy, along with Tesla CEO, would lead “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)” a new US government efficiency group tasked with cutting federal waste.

pic.twitter.com/Vnk4MCAofY — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2024

Who is Vivek Ramaswamy?

Ramaswamy was born on Aug 9, 1985 in Cincinnati, Ohio, to immigrant parents from southern India. Ramaswamy's father worked as an engineer and patent attorney for General Electric, while his mother worked as a geriatric psychiatrist.

After finishing his schooling, Ramaswamy attended Harvard University, graduating in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) (summa cum laude) in biology. He then went on to study at Yale Law School.

In 2007, he co-founded Campus Venture Network and sold it to a non-profit organisation two years later. In 2014, Ramaswamy founded the biotech company Roviant and Sciences as its chief executive officer (CEO) till 2021 and assumed the role of executive chairman.

Roviant Sciences bought patents from larger companies for drugs that had yet to be fully developed and marketed. Last year, Forbes estimated Ramaswamy's wealth at $ 630 million.

Entry into politics

In the 2004 presidential elections, Ramaswamy said he had voted for a libertarian but did not vote in 2008, 2012, or 2016. He has contributed to Republican and Democratic candidates.

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Ramaswamy said he voted in 2020 for then-President Donald Trump. In the following year, the former biotech executive registered to vote in Ohio's Franklin County in Nov as unaffiliated but described himself as a Republican.

In Feb 2023, Ramaswamy declared his candidacy for president.

Ramaswamy's opinions

Although a Hindu, Ramaswamy has been telling voters that the US is based on “Christianand Judeo-Christian values” and has described himself as an American nationalist.

His policy positions are mostly deeply conservative. He has opposed affirmative action and supports state-level bans on abortion after six weeks, with exceptions for rape and incest and to save a mother's life.

He wanted to greatly expand the powers of the presidency and dismantle much of the federal government, including the FBI, the Department of Education and the tax-collecting Internal Revenue Service.

As Russia launched a war against Ukraine in late Feb 2022, Ramaswamy opposed NATO membership for Ukraine and said Kyiv should make concessions to Moscow to end the war.

(With inputs from agencies)