Graham Fortune

Graham Charles Fortune (13 December 1941 – 19 March 2016) was a New Zealand diplomat and public servant. He served as New Zealand's High Commissioner to Australia from 1994 to 1999, and Secretary of Defence from 1999 until 2006.

Early life and family Fortune was born on 13 December 1941, the son of Winifred Jessie Fortune (née Hutchison) and her husband, Charles Henry Fortune, a journalist who died when he was at school. Educated at King's High School, Dunedin from 1955 to 1959, he went on to study chemistry and geology at the University of Otago, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in 1962 and a Master of Science in 1963. His thesis, supervised by Geoff Malcolm, was entitled Measurement of thermal pressure coefficients of polyethylene and polypropylene.

Orienteering Outside of his career as a public servant, Fortune was active in orienteering, and won several Australian and New Zealand championships. He served as vice president of the New Zealand Orienteering Federation from 2007 to 2008, and was a member of the steering committee for the 2013 Orienteering World Cup.

Death Fortune died suddenly in Auckland on 19 March 2016.