Smithsonian leader Lonnie G. Bunch to retire

Smithsonian Institution secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III announced he will retire after seven years leading the institution, having become its first African American and first historian to hold the post. Bunch, 73, said in a statement on Tuesday, 8 September, that he is stepping down after 38 total years at the Smithsonian, including 11 years as the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. He began at the National Air and Space Museum in 1978, later worked at the National Museum of American History, led the Chicago Historical Society for four years, returned to the Smithsonian to head NMAAHC in 2005, and became secretary in 2019. Board of Regents chair Franklin D. Raines said an acting secretary will be named soon and a national search will begin, as Bunch departs amid political pressure on Smithsonian programming during President Donald Trump’s second term, which began in early 2025.

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