David Graham, a pioneer in Bermuda's international business industry, has died at the age of 84.

Mr. Graham, who had been unwell for some time, lived in Switzerland, but had recently asked to travel to England to be with family. He died at his son's home in Gloucester.

Mr. Graham joined local law firm Conyers Dill & Pearman in 1949, the year after founder Sir Reginald Conyers had died in a boating accident. In 1956, Mr. Graham wrote a letter published in The Times of London, pointing out that British ship owners could register their vessels in Bermuda without being subject to the punitive taxes levied on shipowners by Britain at the time.

The letter caused tremendous interest in ship owning circles. Graham was deputed by the Bermuda Government to travel to London to seek the assent of the British Treasury to the transfer of vessels to the Bermuda Register.

A compromise was struck, by which new vessels could be registered in Bermuda.

The result was a massive inflow of international shipping business to Bermuda, which became the foundation for the development of Bermuda's international shipping expertise.

Mr. Graham became a Bermudian when status was introduced in 1956 and later became a partner in Conyers Dill & Pearman. His international contacts were instrumental in establishing and broadening Bermuda's international business industry.

Mr. Graham advised on the setting up of the Bermuda International Business Association and was leading light in Multinational Fiscal Associates (MFA), an international grouping of lawyers. At MFA, Mr. Graham worked closely with leading Canadian lawyer Heward Stikeman, who died last week.

Mr. Graham left Bermuda in 1965 to become managing director of Samuel Montagu, a London merchant bank, whose sale to the giant retail Midland Bank Mr. Graham engineered.

He returned to Bermuda and to Conyers Dill & Pearman briefly, between 1970 and 1972, before setting off on a peripatetic travel schedule which saw him direct considerable business to the Island.

David Graham was born on September 24, 1914, the son of Charles James Graham, D.S.O., M.C.

Mr. Graham attended Wellington College and Wadham College, Oxford. He fought with distinction in the Second World War and was awarded the Military Cross.

On a personal trip to Bermuda in 1947, he was introduced to the local legal fraternity. Conyers Dill & Pearman offered him a position early in 1949, but the Immigration Board initially turned down the firm's request for a work permit.

Mr. Graham was an accomplished pianist and an acknowledged expert on international affairs. In May, 1946, he married Glorita, his best friend's Argentinean widow, who had three children.

A spokesman for Conyers Dill & Pearman noted Mr. Graham's passing with sadness, adding that "everyone who knew David Graham was impressed by the agility of his thought processes and the very real contribution he made to Bermuda during his time here and, later, when he became an ambassador at large for the firm and the Island.'' David Hamshere BUSINESS BUC