Kim Sajet, 41, a vice president at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, has been named president and chief executive of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. A native Australian, Sajet will succeed David Moltke-Hansen, who is retiring after running the 183-year-old society for the last eight years.

"After conducting a national search and considering a number of highly qualified candidates, we found Kim was far and away the best person to lead HSP," Collin McNeil, society board chairman, said in a statement.

"People are astonished to learn that [the historical society has] the only known proof copy of the first edition of the United States Declaration of Independence, the first photograph ever taken in the United States, and one-of-a-kind documents relating to early immigration and settlement," Sajet said. "I look forward to sharing its treasures more widely with everyone interested in American history."

Sajet, who has master's degrees in art history and business, was director of corporate relations at the Philadelphia Museum of Art before joining PAFA in 2001 as deputy director; most recently, she was vice president of the museum and public programs.