It is known that his elder brother Sułek did not hold any official posts while his uncle Jan Świnka was mentioned in 1286 as the castellan of a town of Spycimierz.

Świnka was consecrated as archbishop in Kalisz on 30 July 1283 and the results of the voting were accepted by Pope Martin IV on 19 December the same year.

The election of a Polish archbishop was seen by the rulers of Greater Poland as a chance to break the links with the Holy Roman Empire, and on 1 August 1284 Duke Przemysł II granted the bishops of Gniezno with a privilege to mint their own coins.

The latter problem was seen as the most important, since several monasteries in Lower Silesia decided to break the links with its Polish-Bohemian province and apply for membership in the Saxon branch of the Franciscan order.

The synods were: As a politician, Jakub Świnka was a strong supporter of the idea of re-unification of Poland, divided onto separate duchies after the death of Bolesław III Wrymouth.

This was the case with bishop of Wrocław Tomasz II Zaremba and the Duke of Silesia Henry IV the Righteous, whom Świnka wanted to reconcile.

However, recent studies show that the ongoing conflicts between the dukes of various parts of divided Poland make the existence of such an alliance highly unlikely.

On 26 July 1295 Jakub Świnka concluded his first major political victory: despite lack of papal acceptance, he crowned Przemysł II the King of Poland in the cathedral of Gniezno.

However, the struggle against other pretenders (Henry III of Głogów and Wenceslaus II of Bohemia) weakened his rule and finally led to a conflict with the Catholic hierarchy.

This time the bishop of Kraków was not backed by the rulers of Bohemia who lost all their influence in Poland, while Świnka was strongly endorsed by Wladislaus.