Swift, Jane, 1965-

Variant names

Dates:

Birth 1965-02-24

Gender:

Female

Nationality: Americans,

Language: English,

Biographical notes:

Jane Maria Swift (born February 24, 1965) is an American politician who served as the 69th lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 1999 to 2003 and, concurrently, as acting governor from April 2001 to January 2003. She is the only woman to perform the duties of governor of Massachusetts. At the time she became acting governor, Swift was 36 years old, making her the youngest female governor or acting governor in U.S. history.

Born in North Adams, Massachusetts. Swift attended North Adams public schools, and in 1987 graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, with a degree in American studies. In 1990, at the age of 25, Swift was the youngest woman ever elected to the Massachusetts Senate. She served the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, and Hampden Massachusetts Senate district from 1991 to 1997 and was active in education reform. After losing a race for the U. S. House of Representatives in 1996, Swift went on to serve as an executive with the Massachusetts Port Authority, and was later appointed by Governor Weld as Massachusetts' consumer affairs secretary in 1997, serving in that post until elected lieutenant governor in 1998.

Swift became governor of Massachusetts in April 2001 when Governor Paul Cellucci was appointed United States Ambassador to Canada by President George W. Bush. In October 2001, Swift announced that she would run for a full term as governor in the 2002 election. Despite a widely praised response to the September 11 attacks, however, Swift's popularity had been damaged by political missteps and personal controversies and many Republicans viewed her as unable to win an election against a Democrat. After polling saw her losing a Republican primary to businessman Mitt Romney, Swift bowed out of running for a term in her own right.

After her public sector work, Swift continued to be an active voice for education, particularly education technology in the private sector. She frequently speaks on the role of women in public service and education improvement. She is also a contributor to Working Mother magazine, and was a lecturer at Williams College. She received six honorary doctorates and has served as a fellow at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and as Rappaport Distinguished Visiting Professor at Boston College Law School.