Topic: Jane Swift

Jane Maria Swift (born February 24, 1965) is an American politician and the former Governor of Massachusetts. A Republican, she is to date the only woman to hold that position, serving from 2001 to 2003. At the time she became governor, Swift was the youngest person in the country to hold the position. She had previously served as Lieutenant Governor. In 1990, at the age of 25, she became the youngest woman ever elected to the Massachusetts Senate. She currently resides in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Descended from an Irish-Italian political family in North Adams, Massachusetts, Swift learned politics from her father who was active in the Massachusetts Republican Party. In 1987, she graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut with a degree in American studies and political science. During her college years, Swift was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

Swift was elected Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1998 and became Governor in 2001 when Governor Argeo Paul Cellucci resigned to became the United States Ambassador to Canada. (Note: The Massachusetts constitution has used the term "acting governor" since the eighteenth century, although the powers and responsibilities of the office are fully vested in the designated successor when the office becomes vacant.)