Jean Swanson-Jacobs

Jean Swanson-Jacobs (; 24 November 1955 – 7 July 2013), formerly known as Jean Benjamin, was a South African politician who served as Deputy Minister of Social Development from April 2004 until May 2009. She represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1997 to 2009. A social scientist by profession, she was formerly an anti-apartheid activist in Cape Town.

Early life and career Swanson-Jacobs was born on 24 November 1955 and grew up in Bellville-South outside Cape Town in the former Cape Province. After matriculating from Immaculata High School in Cape Town, she attended the University of the Western Cape (UWC), but she was expelled in 1973 for her political activities in the anti-apartheid youth movement. She subsequently went into exile in London to avoid being coerced to turn state's witness in the trial of the SASO Nine. After the 2004 general election, President Thabo Mbeki appointed her to deputise Minister Zola Skweyiya as Deputy Minister of Social Development. She retired from Parliament after the 2009 general election.

Personal life and death She married Michael Benjamin in 1981 and had three children. The marriage ended in 1998 and she married Aubrey Jacobs in 2007. She died on 7 July 2013 in Cape Town after suffering a stroke.