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| German art historian to become first foreign director of British Museum | German art historian to become first foreign director of British Museum |
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| A German art historian is to become the first foreign director of the British Museum, the UK’s most popular visitor attraction, in almost 200 years. | A German art historian is to become the first foreign director of the British Museum, the UK’s most popular visitor attraction, in almost 200 years. |
| Hartwig Fischer, 53, the director general of Dresden State Art Collections, is set to replace the outgoing Neil MacGregor, who is going on to chair a committee advising on one of Germany’s most important cultural projects, the Humboldt Forum arts complex. | Hartwig Fischer, 53, the director general of Dresden State Art Collections, is set to replace the outgoing Neil MacGregor, who is going on to chair a committee advising on one of Germany’s most important cultural projects, the Humboldt Forum arts complex. |
| The director is believed to have been approved by government officials as well as the collection in Germany, although it added that the choice was yet to be signed off by the prime minister. | The director is believed to have been approved by government officials as well as the collection in Germany, although it added that the choice was yet to be signed off by the prime minister. |
| According to a report in the Times, Fischer has never worked in Britain, studied art history for eight years in his twenties and likes to maintain a low profile. His appointment would end a five-month search after MacGregor, 68, who has been at the helm of the museum since 2002, announced he was stepping down in April. | According to a report in the Times, Fischer has never worked in Britain, studied art history for eight years in his twenties and likes to maintain a low profile. His appointment would end a five-month search after MacGregor, 68, who has been at the helm of the museum since 2002, announced he was stepping down in April. |
| When he broke the news to staff he said his 13 years at the museum had been “the greatest privilege of my professional life”. | When he broke the news to staff he said his 13 years at the museum had been “the greatest privilege of my professional life”. |
| MacGregor has left Fischer a tough act to follow. He oversaw a golden period at the museum, introducing innovation and dynamism and, perhaps above all, relevance into what was a somewhat old-fashioned institution. | MacGregor has left Fischer a tough act to follow. He oversaw a golden period at the museum, introducing innovation and dynamism and, perhaps above all, relevance into what was a somewhat old-fashioned institution. |
| Visitor numbers have increased from 4.6 million in 2002-03 to 6.7 million in 2014-15, making it the second-most visited museum in the world after the Louvre in Paris, and the most popular visitor attraction in Britain. | Visitor numbers have increased from 4.6 million in 2002-03 to 6.7 million in 2014-15, making it the second-most visited museum in the world after the Louvre in Paris, and the most popular visitor attraction in Britain. |
| MacGregor also had to grapple with the continuing controversy of the Elgin marbles and caused a stir last year when he backed a move to loan a section of the display to Russia. | MacGregor also had to grapple with the continuing controversy of the Elgin marbles and caused a stir last year when he backed a move to loan a section of the display to Russia. |
| The 2,500-year-old statues, also known as the Parthenon marbles, have been in the museum since 1816 and, apart from spending the second world war years safely hidden in a tube station, none had left the museum until the sculpture was sent to St Petersburg’s State Hermitage museum. | The 2,500-year-old statues, also known as the Parthenon marbles, have been in the museum since 1816 and, apart from spending the second world war years safely hidden in a tube station, none had left the museum until the sculpture was sent to St Petersburg’s State Hermitage museum. |
| The artist Sir Antony Gormley, writing in the Evening Standard, called MacGregor “the spokesperson for the silent throng of things made by the human hand, heart and brain over all time. | The artist Sir Antony Gormley, writing in the Evening Standard, called MacGregor “the spokesperson for the silent throng of things made by the human hand, heart and brain over all time. |
| “Like no other before him, he has helped us see, empathise and interpret the huge diversity of humanly made things, allowing us to understand what they are and the world from which they come.” | “Like no other before him, he has helped us see, empathise and interpret the huge diversity of humanly made things, allowing us to understand what they are and the world from which they come.” |
| The last foreigner to hold a senior post at the museum was the Italian Sir Anthony Panizzi, who was principal librarian between 1856 and 1866. |