Donald Lewis Kohn (born November 7, 1942) is an American economist who served as the 18th

Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve The vice chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the second-highest officer of the Federal Reserve, after the chair of the Federal Reserve. In the absence of the chair, the vice chair presides over the meetings Board of ...

from 2006 to 2010. Prior to his term as vice chairman, Kohn appointed as a member of the

Federal Reserve Board of Governors 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 ...

since 2002. Fed's veteran, he retired after 40 years at the central bank, currently serving on the Financial Policy Committee for the Bank of England and as a Senior Fellow at the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in e ...

Early life and family

Kohn was born to Jewish family in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and raised in

Elkins Park, Pennsylvania Elkins Park is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is split between Cheltenham and Abington Townships in the northern suburbs outside of Philadelphia, which it borders along Cheltenham Avenue roughly from Ce ...

.Wooster Alumni Bulletin: "Distinguished Alumni Award: Donald L. Kohn '64"
June 1998 He received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

in 1964 from

The College of Wooster The College of Wooster is a private liberal arts college in Wooster, Ohio. Founded in 1866 by the Presbyterian Church as the University of Wooster, it has been officially non-sectarian since 1969 when ownership ties with the Presbyterian Churc ...

and a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in economics in 1971 from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. Kohn and his wife, Gail, have two children, Laura Kohn and Jeffrey Kohn. He is also a grandfather to Laura's children Aidan and Lila, and Jeffrey's children Maya and Quinlan.

Career

Kohn is a veteran of the Federal Reserve System. Before becoming a member of the Board, he served on its staff as Adviser to the Board for

Monetary Policy Monetary policy is the policy adopted by the monetary authority of a nation to control either the interest rate payable for very short-term borrowing (borrowing by banks from each other to meet their short-term needs) or the money supply, often a ...

(2001–02), Secretary 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 ...

(1987–2002), Director of the Division of Monetary Affairs (1987–2001), and Deputy Staff Director for Monetary and Financial Policy (1983–87). He also held several positions in the Board's Division of Research and Statistics—Associate Director (1981–83), Chief of Capital Markets (1978–81), and Economist (1975–78). Dr. Kohn began his career as a Financial Economist at the

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City is located in Kansas City, Missouri and covers the 10th District of the Federal Reserve, which includes Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and portions of western Missouri and northern New Mex ...

(1970–75). Kohn took office as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve on August 5, 2002 for a full term ending January 31, 2016. On May 18, 2006, the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

announced that Kohn had been nominated by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

to replace

Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. Roger W. Ferguson Jr. (born October 28, 1951 in Washington, D.C.) is an American economist, attorney and corporate executive who served as the 17th vice chairmam of the Federal Reserve from 1999 to 2006. Prior to his term as Vice Chairman, Ferg ...

as the new vice chairman of the Federal Reserve System for a four-year term. 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 pow ...

approved his nomination, and Kohn began serving his four-year term as Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on June 23, 2006. Upon the completion of this term as Vice-Chairman on June 23, 2010, Kohn retired from the Federal Reserve. When Kohn announced his retirement on March 1, 2010, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said, "The Federal Reserve and the country owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Don Kohn for his invaluable contributions over 40 years of public service." He was appointed to the Bank of England's Interim Financial Policy Committee on 17 February 2011. Don is the Senior Economic Strategist at the Potomac Research Group, consulting on the U.S. economy.

Economic views and honors

Kohn has written extensively on issues related to monetary policy and its implementation by the Federal Reserve. These works were published in volumes issued by various organizations, including the Federal Reserve System, the Bank of England, the

Reserve Bank of Australia The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority. It has had this role since 14 January 1960, when the ''Reserve Bank Act 1959'' removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank. Th ...

, the Bank of Japan, the

Bank of Korea The Bank of Korea (BOK; ) is the central bank of the Republic of Korea and issuer of Korean Republic won. It was established on 12 June 1950 in Seoul, South Korea. The bank's primary purpose is price stability. For that, the bank targets in ...

, the

National Bureau of Economic Research The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is an American private nonprofit research organization "committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic c ...

, and the

. He was awarded the Distinguished Achievement Award from The Money Marketeers of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

(2002), the Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Wooster (1998), and the Honorary Degree, Doctor of Laws, from the College of Wooster (2006).

References

External links

* Adapted fro
public domain biography
at the Federal Reserve website.
University of North Carolina Wilmington

Statements and Speeches of Donald L. Kohn
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kohn, Donald L. 1942 births 20th-century American Jews College of Wooster alumni Living people People associated with the Bank of England Scientists from Philadelphia University of Michigan alumni Vice Chairs of the Federal Reserve Obama administration personnel George W. Bush administration personnel 21st-century American Jews Brookings Institution people Federal Reserve economists