Claire Ward

Claire Ward
Official portrait, 2009
Mayor of the East Midlands
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 May 2024
Preceded by	Office established
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice
In office 9 June 2009 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Shahid Malik
Succeeded by	Crispin Blunt
Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
In office 5 October 2008 – 9 June 2009
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Liz Blackman
Succeeded by	Helen Jones
Member of Parliament for Watford
In office 1 May 1997 – 12 April 2010
Preceded by	Tristan Garel-Jones
Succeeded by	Richard Harrington
Personal details
Born	Claire Margaret Ward (1972-05-09) 9 May 1972 (age 52) North Shields, Northumberland, England
Political party	Labour
Alma mater	University of Hertfordshire (LLB) Brunel University (MA) The College of Law (PgDip)
Website	Official website

Claire Margaret Ward (born 9 May 1972) is a British Labour Party politician who was elected Mayor of the East Midlands in May 2024.^[1] Previously, she served as Member of Parliament for Watford from 1997 to 2010. Ward was a Government Whip from 2005 to 2009 and a Justice Minister from 2009 to 2010.