Chair of the Federal Reserve

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox official post

The chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the head of the Federal Reserve, and is the active executive officer of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The chairman presides at meetings of the Board.<ref name="chairappointment"/>

The chairman serves a four-year term after being nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate; the officeholder serves concurrently as a member of the Board of Governors. The chairman may serve multiple terms, subject to re-nomination and confirmation each time; William McChesney Martin (1951–1970) was the longest serving chair, with Alan Greenspan (1987–2006) a close second.

Jerome Powell was sworn in as chairman on February 5, 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He had been first nominated to the position by President Donald Trump on November 2, 2017,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and confirmed by the Senate. He was nominated to a second term by President Joe Biden, confirmed by the Senate, and sworn in on May 23, 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Appointment process

As stipulated by the Banking Act of 1935, the chairman is chosen by the president from among the sitting governors to serve four-year terms with the advice and consent of the Senate.<ref name="chairappointment">see Template:Usc</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Senate Committee responsible for vetting a Federal Reserve chair nominee is the Senate Committee on Banking.

Duties of the Fed chairman

By law, at meetings of the Board the chairman presides; in his or her absence, the vice chairman presides. In the absence of the chairman and the vice chairman, the Board shall elect a member to act as chairman pro tempore.<ref>see Template:Usc</ref>

Under the chairman'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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

By custom, the chairman also chairs the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which directs short-term U.S. monetary policy. Although the statute and rules of the FOMC allow it to elect any member as its chair,<ref>see FOMC Rules of Organisation at https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/rules_authorizations.htm</ref> it has always chosen the chairman of the Board in practice.

By law, the chairman reports twice a year to Congress 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Conflict of interest law

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

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Salary

Chair of the Federal Reserve is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule,<ref name="UnitedStatesCode|5|5312"/> thus earning the salary for that level (US$246,400, as of April 2024).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 further four-year terms. Since the Federal Reserve was established in 1914, the following people have served as chair.Template:Efn<ref name="Chairs">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Template:No.	Portrait	Name Template:Small	Term of officeTemplate:Efn		Tenure length	Appointed byTemplate:Efn
Template:No.	Portrait	Name Template:Small	Start of term	End of term	Tenure length	Appointed byTemplate:Efn
-		Template:Sortname Template:Small	December 23, 1913	August 10, 1914	Template:Age in years and days	ex officioTemplate:Efn
1		Template:Sortname Template:Small	August 10, 1914	August 9, 1916	Template:Age in years and days	Woodrow Wilson
2		Template:Sortname Template:Small	August 10, 1916	August 9, 1922	Template:Age in years and days	Woodrow Wilson
3		Template:Sortname Template:Small	May 1, 1923	September 15, 1927	Template:Age in years and days	Warren G. Harding
4		Template:Sortname Template:Small	October 4, 1927	August 31, 1930	Template:Age in years and days	Calvin Coolidge
5		Template:Sortname Template:Small	September 16, 1930	May 10, 1933	Template:Age in years and days	Herbert Hoover
6		Template:Sortname Template:Small	May 19, 1933	August 15, 1934	Template:Age in years and days	Franklin D. Roosevelt
7		Template:Sortname Template:Small	November 15, 1934	January 31, 1948Template:Efn	Template:Age in years and days	Franklin D. Roosevelt
8		Template:Sortname Template:Small	April 15, 1948	March 31, 1951	Template:Age in years and days	Harry S. Truman
9		Template:Sortname Template:Small	April 2, 1951	January 31, 1970	Template:Age in years and days	Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson
10		Template:Sortname Template:Small	February 1, 1970	January 31, 1978Template:Efn	Template:Age in years and days	Richard Nixon Gerald Ford
11		Template:Sortname Template:Small	March 8, 1978	August 6, 1979	Template:Age in years and days	Jimmy Carter
12		Template:Sortname Template:Small	August 6, 1979	August 11, 1987	Template:Age in years and days	Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan
13		Template:Sortname Template:Small	August 11, 1987Template:Efn	January 31, 2006	Template:Age in years and days	Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton George W. Bush
14		Template:Sortname Template:Small	February 1, 2006	January 31, 2014	Template:Age in years and days	George W. Bush Barack Obama
15		Template:Sortname Template:Small	February 3, 2014	February 3, 2018	Template:Age in years and days	Barack Obama
16		Template:Sortname Template:Small	February 5, 2018Template:Efn	Incumbent	Template:Age in years and days	Donald Trump Joe Biden