He was born to father John Swartz and worked as a sales clerk before he joined the 2nd AIF during World War II.
Swartz was a member of the 2/26th Infantry Battalion of the Australian 8th Division in the Battle of Malaya at the rank of Lieutenant.
As such, he was a "Forty-niner" which was the name for the Liberal and Country Party members first elected in the landslide victory by the Coalition in that year.
Harold Holt appointed Swartz as Minister for Civil Aviation in 1966 and he served in that Ministry for three years.
John Gorton appointed him as Minister for National Development in 1969 and he served in that position for three years.