Dame Diane Elizabeth Lees, (born 1964) is the current and first female Director-General of the Imperial War Museum. Prior to succeeding Sir Robert Crawford on 1 October 2008, she had been the director of the

V&A Museum of Childhood Young V&A, formerly the V&A Museum of Childhood, is a branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum (the "V&A"), which is the United Kingdom's national museum of applied arts. It is in Bethnal Green and is located on the Green itself in the East End ...

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By ...

, London since 2000. She is also Chair of th
National Museum Directors' Council
Lees began her career as an historic buildings researcher before moving into managing exhibitions, education and interpretation. She was involved in the rescue and relocation of a hat block manufacturer's workshop in central Manchester; the recovery and display of Henry VIII's flagship ''

Mary Rose The ''Mary Rose'' (launched 1511) is a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. She served for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. After being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her ...

'' in

Portsmouth Harbour Portsmouth Harbour is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Portsmouth and Gosport in Hampshire. It is a Ramsar site and a Special Protection Area. It is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it ...

and re-display of the Nelson Galleries at the

Royal Naval Museum The National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth, formerly known as the Royal Naval Museum, is a museum of the history of the Royal Navy located in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard section of HMNB Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. The ...

. Lees was also involved in creating SPECTRUM, the UK standard for the recording of information about museum collections and was responsible for the creation of the multi-award-winning Galleries of Justice in Nottingham (the UK's only museum of law). She is a trustee of the Story Museum in Oxford, a trustee of Discover in East London and Vice Chair of the Association of Independent Museums, and was Institutional Vice President of the Museums Association. Lees was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to museums, and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

for services to museums and cultural heritage.

References

Reading

Diane Lees interview
Living people Directors of the Imperial War Museum 1964 births Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Women museum directors {{UK-business-bio-1960s-stub