Dirk Kempthorne

Dirk Kempthorne (b. 1951) was mayor of Boise, Idaho, and then served for six years in the U.S. Senate. In returning to Idaho, he was twice elected governor and was also chair of the National Governors Association. President Bush nominated Kempthorne as secretary of the Interior after Secretary Norton's resignation. Kempthorne took steps to modernize Bureau of Indian Education schools and laid the groundwork for landscape-scale stewardship at the Bureau of Land Management. Key announcements during his tenure included the removal of the bald eagle from the list of threatened and endangered species in 2007 and, in 2008, free public access to the U.S. Geological Survey's Landsat satellite image archive. That same year, Kempthorne demonstrated the Department's commitment to reducing its carbon footprint by converting 6,500 square feet atop the headquarters building to a green roof. He departed public service with the end of the Bush Administration and went on to become a governance expert with the Bipartisan Policy Center—a Washington, D.C.-based think tank—and the president and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers.

Idaho's Salmon River and Sawtooth Range comprise the background of this painting. Said artist Michael Shane Neal, "We designed the portrait to embrace [Kempthorne's] love of the outdoors, his comfortable and approachable nature and a relaxed confidence that I think is such a part of his personality." The portrait was unveiled at the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2011.