Joan Brownlow Hanham, Baroness Hanham, (; 23 September 1939 – 24 January 2025) was a British politician who was a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. She sat as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

. Hanham was parliamentary under-secretary of state at the

Department for Communities and Local Government The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for housing, communities, and local government in England. It was established in May 200 ...

from 2010 to 2013, and was leader of the

Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council, also known as Kensington and Chelsea Council, is the local authority for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. ...

from 1989. She was succeeded by councillor

Merrick Cockell Sir Merrick Richard Cockell (born 16 June 1957) is a Conservative politician in the United Kingdom, former Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and former chairman of the Local Government Association. He was made a Knight Bachelo ...

, who became leader in April 2000. She was made a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baroness Hanham, of Kensington in the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (often known by its initialism as RBKC) is an Inner London, Inner London borough with Royal borough, royal status. It is the List of English districts by area, smallest borough in London and the secon ...

, on 15 July 1999. That same year, Hanham was a candidate for the re-run Conservative nomination to be

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

, losing to

Steven Norris Steven John Norris (born 24 May 1945) is a British Conservative Party politician and businessman. Norris served as Member of Parliament for Oxford East from 1983 to 1987. After narrowly losing that marginal seat in 1987 he re-entered the Ho ...

. She retired from the House of Lords on 22 July 2020, and died in January 2025, at the age of 85.

National Health Service

The daughter of Alfred Spark and Mary Mitchell, she married, in 1964, Ian (or Iain) William Fergusson Hanham, an oncologist and also a member of the

from 2002 until his death on 12 April 2011. Hanham was Chairman of St. Mary's Hospital NHS Trust from 2000 to 2007 and of Westminster

Primary Care Trust Primary care trusts (PCTs) were part of the National Health Service in England from 2001 to 2013. PCTs were largely administrative bodies, responsible for commissioning primary, community and secondary health services from providers. Until 31 May ...

. She became a

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

in 1984 and was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

1997 Birthday Honours The 1997 Birthday Honours were announced on 14 June 1997 for the United Kingdom and on 2 June 1997 for New Zealand.New Zealand list: Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Monarch's Official Birthday in the United K ...

for services to local government. She was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the

from 2010 until 2013. She was awarded the Freedom of the

on 19 January 2011. In January 2014 she was appointed the interim chair of health sector regulator

Monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

References

External links

Announcement of her introduction at the House of Lords
House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 27 July 1999
Biography Department for Communities and Local Government

Profile
at ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Baroness Hanham, Joan Hanham 1939 births 2025 deaths Councillors in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Conservative Party (UK) councillors Conservative Party (UK) life peers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Leaders of local authorities of England Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Women councillors in England Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014