Claude Moraes was born in Aden, and grew up in Scotland, having moved to Dundee aged four from India.
17 Facts About Claude Moraes
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Claude Moraes's parents are Indian Catholics from Karnataka and Mumbai.
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Claude Moraes attended St Modan's High School, Stirling and studied law and postgraduate international law at the University of Dundee, Birkbeck, University of London and the London School of Economics and Political Science.
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Claude Moraes was Research Fellow at City Law School, University of London.
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Claude Moraes was House of Commons researcher to MPs John Reid and Paul Boateng following the 1987 General Election and a national officer at the Trades Union Congress in 1989.
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Claude Moraes contested the parliamentary constituency of Harrow West in the 1992 General Election, placing second.
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Claude Moraes was elected to the European Parliament in the 1999 European elections, - the first South Asian origin MEP elected to the European Parliament.
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Claude Moraes was re-elected to the European Parliament at the number one position on the Labour Party list in the 2004 and again in the first-place position in the 2009, and 2014 European Elections.
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In 2013 Claude Moraes was appointed Rapporteur for the Parliament Inquiry into Mass Surveillance following the leaks from Edward Snowden.
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Claude Moraes was chair of the European Parliament Inquiry into Facebook in 2018 opening with a special evidence session questioning Mark Zuckerberg.
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Claude Moraes contributed to the Parliament's position on the Withdrawal Agreement in the areas of EU citizens rights, rights of British citizens in the EU, security union and law enforcement, data adequacy, migration, asylum law and free movement.
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In May 2019, Claude Moraes stood for the Labour Party at the number one position in the London constituency and was reelected in the 2019 European Elections.
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Claude Moraes was nominated for a life peerage by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in late 2024.
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Claude Moraes was created Baron Moraes, of Hawkhill in the City of Dundee, on 15 January 2025, and was introduced to the House of Lords on 16 January.
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On 10 February 2025, Claude Moraes was appointed as a lord-in-waiting government whip.
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In 2011 Claude Moraes was Dod's and the European Parliament Magazine's 'MEP of the Year' for work on human rights.
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Claude Moraes was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to human rights, and awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Greenwich in 2022.