Duane “Buzz” Fitzgerald

Duane D. “Buzz” Fitzgerald is a native of St. John, a small town on the St. John River in northern Maine. He grew up in Bath in a shipbuilding family. He is a graduate of Morse High School in Bath, and holds a degree from Boston University College of Basic Studies, School of Management and School of Law.

After practicing law for twenty-three years and serving as outside counsel for the Company, he accepted a position as General Counsel of Bath Iron Works Company in 1986. Within two years, he had become President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company in 1991. Following its acquisition of BIW in 1995, Buzz was named Corporate Vice President of General Dynamics Corporation. He is currently serving as chairman of Bath Iron Works.

His commitment to the cause of justice has been lifelong. Buzz served as the first chair of the Maine Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on Professional Responsibility, the judicial committee which monitors the duties and obligations of lawyers to their clients. In 1989, he agreed to lead the first statewide private fundraising campaign on behalf of a legal services program in Maine, the “Campaign for Justice” for Pine Tree Legal Assistance. His leadership on this effort encouraged over 400 attorneys to contribute to the campaign and established legal services as an appropriate recipient of charitable giving. Last year, the collective private fundraising efforts of Maine’s legal services community generated over $125,000 to support direct legal services throughout the state- funding which has become increasingly important as federal and state funding for these programs has been reduced.

In the spring of 1996, Buzz agreed to chair the newly formed Dirigo Project, a citizen’s group which is providing support and direction to the Maine courts in a variety of specific ways. The project’s mandate is to increase communication between the courts and the public, to involve citizens in court-related activities and to increase public understanding of and support for the courts; Buzz is providing clear direction and leadership on all three goals.