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The chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the head of the
Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...
, and is the active executive officer of the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, commonly known as the Federal Reserve Board, is the main governing body of the Federal Reserve System. It is charged with overseeing the Federal Reserve Banks and with helping implement the m ...
. The chair shall preside at the meetings of the Board. The chair serves a four-year term after being nominated by the
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
and confirmed by the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...
; the officeholder serves concurrently as member of the Board of Governors. The chair may serve multiple terms, pending a new nomination and confirmation at the end of each term, with William McChesney Martin as the longest serving chair from 1951 to 1970 and
Alan Greenspan Alan Greenspan (born March 6, 1926) is an American economist who served as the 13th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006. He works as a private adviser and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC. ...
as a close second. The chairs cannot be dismissed by the president before the end of their term. The current chair is
Jerome Powell Jerome Hayden "Jay" Powell (born February 4, 1953) is an American attorney and investment banker who has served as the 16th chair of the Federal Reserve since 2018. After earning a degree in politics from Princeton University in 1975 and a ...
, who was sworn in on February 5, 2018. He was nominated to the position by President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
on November 2, 2017, and later confirmed by the Senate. He was subsequently nominated to a second term by President Joe Biden, later confirmed by the Senate and sworn in on May 23, 2022.


Appointment process

As stipulated by the
Banking Act of 1935 The ''Banking Act of 1935'' passed on August 19, 1935 and was signed into law by the president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, on August 23. The Act changed the structure and power distribution in the Federal Reserve System that began with the ''Banking ...
, the
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
may designate to serve as Chairman of the Board for four-year terms with the advice and consent of the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, from among the sitting governors.see The Senate Committee responsible for vetting a Federal Reserve chair nominee is the Senate Committee on Banking.


Duties of the Fed chair

By law, at meetings of the
Board Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ty ...
the chairman shall preside, and, in his absence, the vice chairman shall preside. In the absence of the chairman and the vice chairman, the Board shall elect a member to act as chairman pro tempore. Under the chair’s leadership, the Board’s responsibilities include analysis of domestic and international financial and economic developments. The board also supervises and regulates the Federal Reserve Banks, exercises responsibility in the nation’s payments system, and administers consumer credit protection laws. One of the chair's most important duties is to serve as the chair of the
Federal Open Market Committee The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), a committee within the Federal Reserve System (the Fed), is charged under United States law with overseeing the nation's open market operations (e.g., the Fed's buying and selling of United States Treas ...
(FOMC), which is critical in setting short-term U.S.
monetary policy Monetary policy is the policy adopted by the monetary authority of a nation to control either the interest rate payable for federal funds, very short-term borrowing (borrowing by banks from each other to meet their short-term needs) or the money s ...
. By law, the chair reports twice a year to
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy objectives. He or she also testifies before Congress on numerous other financial issues and meets periodically with the treasury secretary, who is a member of the president's
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...
.


Conflict of interest law

The law applicable to the chair and all other members of the board provides (in part):


Salary

Chair of the Federal Reserve is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule and thus earns the salary prescribed for that level ( US$226,300, as of January 2022).


List of Fed chairs

The following is a list of past and present chairs of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. A chair serves for a four-year term after appointment, but may be reappointed for several consecutive four-year terms. Since the Federal Reserve was established in 1914, the following people have served as chair.


See also

* History of central banking in the United States


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * Beckhart, Benjamin Haggott. 1972. ''Federal Reserve System''. ew York American Institute of Banking. * Shull, Bernard. 2005. ''The fourth branch: the Federal Reserve's unlikely rise to power and influence''. Westport, Conn.: Praeger.


External links

*
Public Statements of the Chairs of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
via the
St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., make up the United States' central bank. Missouri is the only state to have two main Federal Reserve Banks (Ka ...

Nomination hearings, conducted in the Senate, for Chairs and Members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Timeline of Federal Reserve Chairs
with related resources {{DEFAULTSORT:Chair of the Federal Reserve
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...