Martin E. Sullivan is the director of the National Portrait Gallery. He was appointed to the position in January and officially assumed office April 28, 2008.

Prior to joining the Smithsonian, Sullivan, 64, served as chief executive officer of the Historic St. Mary’s City Commission in Maryland since 1999. Earlier, he was director of the Heard Museum, an internationally renowned museum of American Indian cultures and art in Phoenix and director of the New York State Museum in Albany, N.Y.

Sullivan has chaired three national boards concerned with advancing museum standards, ethics and practices: the Accreditation Commission of the American Association of Museums; the U.S. State Department’s Cultural Property Advisory Committee; and the review committee overseeing compliance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. He is co-chair of an American Association of Museums ethics task force on antiquities. In 2006, Sullivan was named to the Centennial Honor Roll of the American Association of Museums, which recognizes outstanding efforts in advocacy and leadership.

He has been a senior fellow in residence at the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard University (2003-2004) and has contributed many articles and chapters to scholarly publications.

Sullivan received a doctorate degree (1974) and master’s degree (1970) in American history from the University of Notre Dame and a bachelor’s degree (1965) in history from Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y.

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