| Joseph D. Ward | |
| Office: | 22nd Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth |
| Governor: | Foster Furcolo |
| Predecessor: | J. Henry Goguen |
| Successor: | Kevin H. White |
| Term Start: | January 20, 1959 |
| Term End: | January 1961 |
| Office2: | Member of the Massachusetts Senate 3rd Worcester District |
| Predecessor2: | Elizabeth Stanton |
| Successor2: | Robert A. Hall |
| Term Start2: | 1963 |
| Term End2: | 1973 |
| Office3: | Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives 13th Worcester District |
| Term Start3: | 1949 |
| Term End3: | 1956 |
| Birth Date: | March 26, 1914[1] |
| Birth Place: | Fitchburg, Massachusetts |
| Death Place: | Ocean Ridge, Florida |
| Alma Mater: | College of the Holy Cross Boston University |
| Party: | Democratic Party |
| Profession: | Lawyer |
| Residence: | Fitchburg, Massachusetts Ocean Ridge, Florida |
Joseph D. Ward (March 26, 1914 – May 10, 2003) was an American politician who served as Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth from January 1959 to January 1961.
Ward was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1948, representing the 13th Worcester District. He was a candidate for Massachusetts Attorney General in 1956, but lost to Edward J. McCormack Jr. in the Democratic primary. Ward was appointed Secretary of the Commonwealth following the death of Edward J. Cronin. In 1960, Ward ran for Governor of Massachusetts. He defeated Endicott Peabody, Francis E. Kelly, Robert F. Murphy, John Francis Kennedy, Gabriel Piemonte, and Alfred Magaletta in the primary, but lost to John A. Volpe in the general election. He was elected to the Massachusetts Senate in 1962 and remained there until his retirement from politics in 1972.
Ward also spent 12 years as a professor of political law at Boston University.[2]