Lonnie G. Bunch III announced Tuesday that after more than seven years as secretary of the Smithsonian, he will depart by the end of the year, according to a news release.

Bunch, 73, took the top post in 2019 and was the institution’s first Black secretary. He was the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in D.C. in 2016. He started his decades-long career as a historian on the faculty of the University of Maryland.

In a statement, Bunch said, “It is with very mixed emotions and heartfelt gratitude that I announce my retirement from the Smithsonian. I have spent nearly half of my life working at and being part of the Smithsonian family, and what a privilege it has been.

“There is no place like the Smithsonian — it has been one of the great loves of my life, and I am extraordinarily proud of what we have accomplished together,” his statement continued. “I leave with pride and sadness, gratitude and joy, and with enormous confidence in the people who will carry this remarkable institution forward.”

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Bunch’s departure comes amid President Donald Trump’s efforts to transform how the nationwide network of museums and landmarks recounts the story and values of America.

Bunch told The New York Times that he was not leaving because of pressures he and the institution have faced from the administration. But he did concede that increased oversight had caused him stress and he is looking toward for retirement.

White House officials have called Smithsonian leaders radical activists. But the institution has faced criticisms for trying to appease the president’s wishes to scrub works that don’t align with the administration’s view of history from the 21 museums and galleries.

Last year, artist Amy Sherald canceled her planned exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery after she learned that her work “Trans Forming Liberty,” which depicts trans model Arewà Basit as the Statue of Liberty, could be removed from the showcase to stay out of Trump’s crosshairs, according to The New York Times.

Sherald moved her retrospective, “American Sublime,” to the Baltimore Museum of Art, where it ran from November through April to public and critical acclaim.

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The Smithsonian has long been seen as an autonomous arm of the federal government. Since its founding in 1846, a 17-member Board of Regents has governed the institution. That body is led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and includes Vice President JD Vance, six members of Congress (split evenly among Democrats and Republicans), and nine private citizens from states across the nation.

Members are appointed to six-year terms and can serve a maximum of two terms. These appointees must be approved by Congress and the president. Three of the citizen members’ terms have recently expired, and no replacements have been sent for congressional approval because of a reported effort by President Trump to overhaul the board, according to The Times.

Bunch has spent much of his career with the Smithsonian, beginning in 1978 as an education specialist at the National Air and Space Museum. Bunch left the institution on two occasions in the 1980s and early 2000s, but his work at the National Museum of American History paved the path for his role in establishing the vision for the NMAAHC.

His tenure as Smithsonian secretary included planning and developing new museums, such as the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum and the National Museum of the American Latino.

Bunch was born and raised in New Jersey and came to the capital region to attend Howard and American universities, eventually earning a doctorate from the latter in American and African American history.

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