patricia hewitt

The Right Honourable
Secretary of State for Health
In office 5 May 2005 – 27 June 2007
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	John Reid
Succeeded by	Alan Johnson
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry President of the Board of Trade
In office 8 June 2001 – 5 May 2005
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Stephen Byers
Succeeded by	Alan Johnson
Minister for Women
In office 8 June 2001 – 5 May 2005
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	The Baroness Jay of Paddington
Succeeded by	Tessa Jowell
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
In office 27 July 1998 – 17 May 1999
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Helen Liddell
Succeeded by	Melanie Johnson
Member of Parliament for Leicester West
In office 2 May 1997 – 12 April 2010
Preceded by	Greville Janner
Succeeded by	Liz Kendall
Personal details
Born	(1948-12-02) 2 December 1948 (age 68) Canberra, Australia
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	David Julian Gibson-Watt Bill Birtles
Children	2
Alma mater	Australian National University Nuffield College, Oxford Newnham College, Cambridge

Patricia Hope Hewitt (born 2 December 1948) is an Australian-born British Labour politician, who served in the Cabinet until 2007, most recently as Secretary of State for Health.

Hewitt's political career began in the 1970s as a high-profile left-winger and supporter of Tony Benn, even being classified by MI5 as an alleged communist sympathiser. After nine years as General Secretary of the National Council for Civil Liberties, she became press secretary to Neil Kinnock, whom she assisted in the modernisation of the Labour Party. In 1997, she became the first female MP for Leicester West, a safe Labour seat, which she represented for thirteen years.

In 2001, she joined Blair's cabinet as President of the Board of Trade and Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, before becoming Health Secretary in 2005. During her tenure, the ban on smoking in public places became legally enforceable. Hewitt has sparked many controversies, notably her selection of a female job-applicant over a stronger male candidate, and her theory that fathers may not be a useful influence in the upbringing of children.

In March 2010, Hewitt was suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party over the question of political lobbying irregularities, alleged by the Channel 4 Dispatches programme.