Lawrence M. Small is the 11th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution since Jan. 24, 2000. He was named to the position in September 1999. As Secretary of the Smithsonian, Small leads the world’s largest museum and research complex—19 museums and galleries, including the National Zoo and nine research centers.

Prior to becoming Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Small served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Fannie Mae, the world’s largest housing finance company, since 1991.

Before joining Fannie Mae, Small worked at Citicorp/Citibank, the largest U.S. banking institution, for 27 years, ending his tenure there as Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors. His numerous posts with that firm entailed work both in the United States and abroad and in positions such as the company’s senior executive in charge of Commercial Banking, Information Technology, Human Resources and Worldwide Corporate Banking.

He currently serves on the Committee for the Preservation of the White House; on the boards of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the National Gallery, the Spanish Repertory Theatre, and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and he is a member of the boards of directors of The Chubb Corp. and Marriott International Inc.

Small has served on a number of nonprofit and corporate boards, including the National Building Museum; Mt. Sinai-NYU Medical Center and Health System; the Spanish Repertory Theatre; the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council; Brown University; Morehouse College; the Collegiate School; the Joffrey Ballet; the American Women’s Economic Development Corp.; the International Executive Service Corps; Instituto de Estudios Superiores de la Empresa in Barcelona, Spain; and the Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America.

He also has been a board member of Paramount Communications Inc., an entertainment and communications company, and of Fannie Mae and Citicorp/Citibank.

Lawrence M. Small was born in New York City on Sept. 14, 1941. He graduated from Brown University in 1963 with highest honors in Spanish literature and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Small holds an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he was a member of the Board of Trustees from 1973 until 1999. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Brown University, where he was a trustee from 1984 to 1990. He also holds an honorary Doctor of Public Service from American University in Washington, D.C., an honorary Doctor of Arts and Sciences from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from The College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y.