Wilfred Henry Fortune (9 October 1897 – 28 February 1961) was a New Zealand politician of the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

Personal life

Fortune was born in 1897 in

Paeroa Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, and is approximately 20 kil ...

. He received his education at

Auckland Grammar School Auckland Grammar School (often simplified to Auckland Grammar, or Grammar), established in 1869, is a State school, state, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding secondary school for Single-sex education, boys in Auckland, New Zealand. ...

, the Auckland Teachers' Training College, and the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

. He obtained a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

, a B.Com., and a diploma in social sciences. He initially worked as a teacher, then became a public secretary, and was then managing director of Young and Fortune Ltd. During World War II, he was a lieutenant colonel with the

New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

(NZEF) in the Pacific. Fortune died on 28 February 1961.

Political career

As an Independent, he contested the in the

Auckland West The former New Zealand parliamentary electorate on the western inner city of Auckland, was known as City of Auckland West from 1861 to 1890, and then Auckland West from 1905 to 1946. Population centres From 1861 to 1884 the electorate compri ...

electorate resulting from

Michael Joseph Savage Michael Joseph Savage (23 March 1872 – 27 March 1940) was an Australian-born New Zealand politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of New Zealand, heading the First Labour Government of New Zealand, First Labour Government from 1935 ...

's death, but was beaten by Labour's Peter Carr. He stood for National in the , but was beaten by the incumbent, Labour's

Bill Anderton William Theophilus Anderton (16 March 1891 – 20 January 1966) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He served as Minister of Internal Affairs in the second Labour Government, from 1957 to 1960. Early life Anderton was born in W ...

, by only 14 votes. In

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

he won a seat on the

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1989 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elec ...

, serving two terms.

Member of parliament

Fortune was first elected to

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

at the subsequent election in , when Anderton successfully stood in , and Fortune was returned in Eden. Fortune held Eden until the , when he was defeated for . He was a member of the Executive Council from 1949 to 1954 in the First National Government. In January 1950 he was appointed Minister of Police. In 1953, Fortune was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal () is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family ...

. In 1955, he was granted the use of the title of "Honourable" for life, having served more than three years as a member of the Executive Council.

After parliament

From 1956 until his death, he chaired the National Party in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. In

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

he won a by-election to regain a seat on the Auckland City Council. His interests lay in education and health, and he was a member of the Auckland Education Board, and the Seddon Memorial Technical College Board of Governors. He was a director of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

, and chaired the Auckland Central Health Camp Council.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortune, Wilfred 1897 births 1961 deaths New Zealand National Party MPs Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates People from Paeroa People educated at Auckland Grammar School University of Auckland alumni New Zealand schoolteachers New Zealand military personnel of World War II Unsuccessful candidates in the 1954 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1943 New Zealand general election Auckland City Councillors