Greg Hartung

Gregory Neil Hartung (born 3 June 1948) is an Australian and international sport administrator. He was President of the Australian Paralympic Committee from 1997 to 2013 and served as vice-president of the International Paralympic Committee 2009–13.

Personal Hartung was born in Maryborough, Queensland in 1948. His father was a hairdresser and mother was a nurse.

His father died in 1950 from a war related illness and mother died when he was 14. His son Michael was the general manager of Sport at the Australian Paralympic Committee and was appointed Chef de Mission for the Australian Paralympic Team at the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, Canada.

In 2021, he donated his personal collection of papers to the National Library of Australia. His papers covered his life in journalism and sport administration. In 2023, Hartung authored the book "The Great Arm Wrestle: Australian Sport Policy since 1939".

Journalism career In 1972, Hartung was employed as a cadet at the Courier Mail.

Sport administration career In 1975, he worked as a political journalist in Canberra and during this time, Hartung wrote several newspaper articles highlighting the inadequate support from the federal government for sport and assisted John Brown, Shadow Minister for Sport, to develop the Australian Labor Party's sport policy for the 1983 Federal Election. In 2014, he was appointed adjunct professor of sport at the University of Canberra and will be involved in the new Master of High Performance Sport course.

Australian Sport Commission Hartung was appointed a member of the Interim Committee of the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) established by Minister for Sport, John Brown in early 1983. In 1984, he was appointed general manager of the Australian Sports Commission, a position which he held until 1988. In August 2006, he was appointed to the Board of the Australian Sports Commission and in November 2008 was appointed chairman, a position which he held until his resignation on 4 April 2010. He resigned due to increased International Paralympic Committee commitments. Minister for Sport, Kate Ellis paid tribute by stating "Mr Hartung is a leader in national and international sports administration and we're fortunate to have benefitted from his talents over many years. Mr Hartung's dedication to sport, and particular achievement in promoting elite sport for those with a disability, has contributed to a well-run and inclusive sporting environment in Australia". Whilst on the Board, he was Chairman of the Australian Sports Foundation.

Confederation of Australian Sport From 1989 to 1995, Hartung was President of the Confederation of Australian Sport, a peak sport body with the objective of providing a united voice in negotiations with government and stakeholders. As President, he argued that all minor sports deserved support due to the Australian Sports Commission's mandate of sport being for all Australians. He was made a life member of the Confederation.

Australian Paralympic Committee

Hartung provided strategic advice to Australian Paralympic Federation in its bid to host the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney. Hartung was President of the Australian Paralympic Committee from 1997 to 2013 He also established the Oceania Paralympic Committee, and served as the Deputy President of the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games Organizing Committee.

International Paralympic Committee On 23 November 2009, Hartung was elected the vice-president of the International Paralympic Committee Governing Board at a meeting of the IPC General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur.

Business career

Hartung owned the company Access Communications. This company specialised in publishing, political monitoring and databases. Hartung sold Access Communications to CCH in 2000. 2001 – Centenary Medal 2002 – Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) 2013 – Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) 2019 - Paralympic Order 2024 - Australian Paralympic Hall of Fame