Gen. John R. Dailey (USMC, Ret.), Associate Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, has been named Director of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. His appointment was announced today, Nov. 24, by Smithsonian Secretary I. Michael Heyman.

The new director will begin work at the museum in January. He came to NASA In 1992, following retirement after 36 years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps, most recently as Assistant Commandant.

Gen. Dailey succeeds Vice Admiral Donald Engen, who was killed in a glider accident last July. Engen had served as Director of the museum for three years.

The National Air and Space Museum, which opened in 1976, is the busiest museum in the Smithsonian complex and the most-visited museum in the world. It has nearly 10 million visitors a year, 260 employees and an annual operating budget of about $25 million. The museum is home to many of the "firsts" in aviation and space history, including the Wright Brothers 1903 "Flyer", the "Spirit of St. Louis", the Apollo 11 command module "Columbia" and the gondola of the first balloon to fly non-stop around the world. It has more than 36,000 objects in its collection.

Secretary Heyman said, "We selected Jack Dailey from a very strong field of candidates. He is a most impressive individual and even more impressive is the confidence and admiration he has earned throughout the air and space community. The responses we received to our inquiries were simply astounding. He will continue the strong dedicated leadership that we have come to expect at Air and Space. We look forward to an exciting future as the museum continues to grow and reach out to new audiences on the Mall and at the planned Udvar-Hazy Center".

"It is an honor to have been selected as the Director of the National Air and Space Museum," said Dailey. "Admiral Don Engen was a very close friend, and I consider it a privilege of the highest order to be able to carry on his vision. I look forward to working with the talented people who have built this museum into the most popular museum in the world."

For the past seven years, Gen. Dailey served as the NASA Administrator's most senior advisor and led the agency's reinvention activities.

NASA Administrator Dan Goldin said, "The leadership provided by Jack Dailey has been unparalleled. He has shaped and strengthened the agency, and was responsible for developing an infrastructure that will carry NASA into the new millennium. His commitment to aviation and space is unmatched."

Gen. Dailey is a pilot with more than 6,000 hours in aircraft and helicopter flight. In 1972, he served as Commanding Officer of the Marine Composite Reconnaissance Squadron-1, and commanded a Carrier Task Unit that supported combat operations in Vietnam. During two tours in Vietnam, he flew 450 combat missions.

By 1986, Gen. Dailey had been promoted to Major General and took command of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing in Cherry Point, N.C. He was appointed to the grade of General and named Assistant Commandant of the Marines in 1990.

Among Gen. Dailey's decorations are the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal and the Combat Action Ribbon.

He serves on President Bill Clinton's Management Council and the Aeronautics and Astronautics Coordinating Board. He is National Commander of the Marine Corps Aviation Association, and a member of the Early and Pioneer Naval Aviators Association ("Golden Eagles"), and a number of other national and international organizations and boards.

Gen. Dailey was born on Feb. 17, 1934 in Quantico, Va., and earned his bachelor's degree at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1956. He has two grown children and he resides with his wife Mimi in Fairfax, Va.

The National Air and Space Museum is building a new facility, located at Washington Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia. The 710,000 square-foot hangar-style building is scheduled to open in December 2003 and will display more than 180 aircraft and 100 spacecraft (considerably more than can be exhibited in the museum on the Mall, which will remain open when the Udvar-Hazy Center opens).