Chairman of the Federal Reserve
Encyclopedia
The Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the head of the central banking system
Central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries...

 of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Known colloquially as "Chairman of the Fed," or in market circles "Fed Chairman" or "Fed Chief". The Chairman is the "active executive officer" (see ) of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913 with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, largely in response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907...

.

Overview

As stipulated by the Banking Act of 1935, the President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 appoints the seven members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; they must then be confirmed by the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 and serve for 14 years. Once appointed, Governors may not be removed from office for their policy views. The chairman and vice-chairman are chosen by the President from among the sitting Governors for four-year terms; these appointments are also subject to Senate confirmation.
By law, the chairman reports twice a year to Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy
Monetary policy
Monetary policy is the process by which the monetary authority of a country controls the supply of money, often targeting a rate of interest for the purpose of promoting economic growth and stability. The official goals usually include relatively stable prices and low unemployment...

 objectives. He or she also testifies before Congress on numerous other issues and meets periodically with the Secretary
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...

 of the Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...

.

Currently, the chairman is Ben Bernanke
Ben Bernanke
Ben Shalom Bernanke is an American economist, and the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States. During his tenure as Chairman, Bernanke has overseen the response of the Federal Reserve to late-2000s financial crisis....

, a South Carolina macroeconomist
Macroeconomics
Macroeconomics is a branch of economics dealing with the performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of the whole economy. This includes a national, regional, or global economy...

 nominated by George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 and sworn into office on February 1, 2006, for a term lasting until January 31, 2010. He was nominated for a second time by President Obama in 2009. In 2010 he was confirmed by the senate for a second term, ending January 31, 2014. Bernanke succeeded Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan is an American economist who served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. He currently works as a private advisor and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC...

, who served for more than 18 years during the terms of four U.S. Presidents.

The law applicable to the Chairman and all other members of the Board provides (in part):
No member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall be an officer or director of any bank, banking institution, trust company, or Federal Reserve bank or hold stock in any bank, banking institution, or trust company; and before entering upon his duties as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System he shall certify under oath that he has complied with this requirement, and such certification shall be filed with the secretary of the Board.


See

Chairman of the Federal Reserve

  1. Charles S. Hamlin (August 10, 1914 - August 10, 1916)--Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve System
  2. William P. G. Harding
    William P. G. Harding
    William Proctor Gould Harding was an American banker.-Biography:He was born in Boligee, Alabama, and graduated from the University of Alabama in 1881. He was the second Chairman of the Federal Reserve, serving from 1916 to 1922...

     (August 10, 1916 - August 9, 1922)
  3. Daniel R. Crissinger
    Daniel Richard Crissinger
    Daniel Richard Crissinger was a U.S. banker and lawyer. He served as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board between 1923 and 1927.-Early life:...

     (May 1, 1923 - September 15, 1927)
  4. Roy A. Young
    Roy A. Young
    Roy Archibald Young was a U.S. banker. Most significantly, he was chairman of the Federal Reserve Board between 1927 and 1930 during the presidencies of Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover. During his tenure as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, the 1929 Stock Market Crash occurred and the...

     (October 4, 1927 - August 31, 1930)
  5. Eugene I. Meyer
    Eugene Meyer
    Eugene Isaac Meyer was an American financier, public official, publisher of the Washington Post newspaper. He served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1930 to 1933. He was the father of publisher Katharine Graham.-Biography:Born in Los Angeles, California, he was one of eight children of...

     (September 16, 1930 - May 10, 1933)
  6. Eugene R. Black
    Eugene R. Black
    Eugene Robert Black was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve from May 9, 1933 to August 15, 1934. His namesake, Eugene "Gene" Robert Black, Sr., was the first in the family to use the "Sr." designation; Gene's son became Eugene Robert Black, Jr.-Biography:He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and...

     (May 19, 1933 - August 15, 1934)
  7. Marriner S. Eccles¹ (November 15, 1934 - February 3, 1948)--first Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
  8. Thomas B. McCabe
    Thomas B. McCabe
    Thomas Bayard McCabe , a graduate of Swarthmore, served as the chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1948-1951. He was president and CEO of Scott Paper Company 1927–1967.-Biography:...

     (April 15, 1948 - April 2, 1951)
  9. William McChesney Martin, Jr.
    William McChesney Martin, Jr.
    William McChesney Martin, Jr. was the ninth and longest-serving Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, serving from April 2, 1951 to January 31, 1970 under five Presidents...

     (April 2, 1951 - February 1, 1970)
  10. Arthur F. Burns
    Arthur F. Burns
    Arthur Frank Burns was an American economist. He served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1970 to 1978.- Career :...

     (February 1, 1970 - January 31, 1978)
  11. G. William Miller
    G. William Miller
    George William Miller served as the 65th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Carter from August 6, 1979 to January 20, 1981...

     (March 8, 1978 - August 6, 1979)
  12. Paul A. Volcker
    Paul Volcker
    Paul Adolph Volcker, Jr. is an American economist. He was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve under United States Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan from August 1979 to August 1987. He is widely credited with ending the high levels of inflation seen in the United States in the 1970s and...

     (August 6, 1979 - August 11, 1987)
  13. Alan Greenspan
    Alan Greenspan
    Alan Greenspan is an American economist who served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. He currently works as a private advisor and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC...

    ² (August 11, 1987 - January 31, 2006)
  14. Ben S. Bernanke
    Ben Bernanke
    Ben Shalom Bernanke is an American economist, and the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States. During his tenure as Chairman, Bernanke has overseen the response of the Federal Reserve to late-2000s financial crisis....

     (February 1, 2006 - )

¹ Served as Chair pro tempore
Pro tempore
Pro tempore , abbreviated pro tem or p.t., is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a locum tenens in the absence of a superior, such as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate.Legislative...

from February 3, 1948, to April 15, 1948.

² Served as Chair pro tempore
Pro tempore
Pro tempore , abbreviated pro tem or p.t., is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a locum tenens in the absence of a superior, such as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate.Legislative...

from March 3, 1996, to June 20, 1996.

Historical note

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve did not exist prior to the major reorganization of the Fed in 1935 (Banking Act of 1935). Prior to that time, the "Federal Reserve Board" (created in 1913 under the Federal Reserve Act) had a Board of Directors. The directors' salaries were significantly lower and their terms of office were much shorter prior to 1935. In effect, the Federal Reserve Board members in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

were significantly less powerful than the presidents of the regional Federal Reserve Banks prior to 1935.

Prior to 1935, the heads of the twelve district "Federal Reserve Banks" were called "Governors". In the 1935 act, the district heads had their titles changed to "President" (e.g., "President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis"), as part of a major shift of power to Washington.

Thus, Marriner Eccles was the first actual "Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Board". The others prior to 1935 were "Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve System", with much more circumscribed power.

External links

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