Jonathan Fine has been announced as the new Director-General of the Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM) Vienna, effective from January 1, 2025. The current Director of the Weltmuseum, also part of the KHM museum association, Fine was introduced by Austria's State Secretary for Arts and Culture, Andrea Mayer, at a ceremony held at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

Fine was chosen for his understanding and willingness to address the pressing issues facing museums today. "He embodies a thoroughly modern concept of a museum that tackles societal questions but does not forget its inherent tasks," Mayer said during the introduction. She emphasized the importance of Fine's extensive network within and beyond the museum association, especially in these challenging times when museums are grappling with significant upheavals.

In his acceptance speech, Fine expressed gratitude and humility at the opportunity to lead the KHM museum association. He praised the association's staff and its world-class collections, which compete with the finest museums globally. He also acknowledged the collections' ability to offer insights into the best of human artistic creation and help us understand the interconnectedness of our world.

The selection process for the Director-General of the Kunsthistorisches Museum was overseen by the personnel consultancy firm Alto Partners. A total of 20 applicants, equally divided between men and women, applied for the position, with 6 from Austria and 14 from abroad. Five candidates were invited for hearings by the selection committee, which then submitted an unranked shortlist of three to State Secretary Mayer. The selection committee included the Chair of the KHM Board of Trustees, Ulrike Baumgartner-Gabitzer, former Minister of Culture Rudolf Scholten, Theresia Niedermüller (BMKÖS), Philipp Demandt (Director of the Städel Museum Frankfurt), and Raphael Rosenberg from the Institute of Art History at the University of Vienna.

Jonathan Fine, born in 1969, has been the Scientific Director of the Weltmuseum Vienna since July 2021. Under his leadership, the museum has become a space for dialogue between contemporary issues and historical collections. Some of the exhibitions presented during his tenure include "Science Fiction/s: If There was a Tomorrow" (2023), "Fruits of Labour: Maximilian Prüfer" (2023), "Extinct!?" (2023), and "Oceans. Collections. Reflections. George Nuku" (2022) among others.

Fine has intensified and expanded the museum's collaboration and engagement with contemporary artists and communities, both domestically and internationally. He was appointed by State Secretary Andrea Mayer to chair an international expert commission tasked with formulating recommendations for collections from colonial contexts in Austrian federal museums. These recommendations were presented to the public on June 20, 2023. Fine was elected to the board of ICOM Austria in 2022.

Before his role at the Weltmuseum Vienna, Fine led the collections at the Ethnological Museum, National Museums in Berlin - Prussian Cultural Heritage. Here, he served as a curator for collections from West Africa, Cameroon, Gabon, and Namibia. In Berlin, he worked to broaden the perspective on art from Africa and to build bridges to other collections of the National Museums.

State Secretary Mayer also took the opportunity to thank the current Director-General of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Sabine Haag, for her contributions, stating, "That the Kunsthistorisches Museum is today one of the world's most important museums is also due to your merit." With Jonathan Fine's appointment, the museum is expected to continue its trajectory of success and innovation in the years to come.