Janet Yellen

United States Secretary of the Treasury

Janet Louise Yellen (born August 13, 1946) is an American economist and professor. She is a Democrat. She is (as of 2024's fourth quarter), the 78th and current United States Secretary of the Treasury since January 26, 2021.

Janet Yellen
Official portrait, 2021
78th United States Secretary of the Treasury
Assumed office
January 26, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
DeputyWally Adeyemo
Preceded bySteven Mnuchin
Succeeded byScott Bessent (nominee)
15th Chair of the Federal Reserve
In office
February 3, 2014 – February 3, 2018
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
DeputyStanley Fischer
Preceded byBen Bernanke
Succeeded byJerome Powell
19th Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve
In office
October 4, 2010 – February 3, 2014
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byDonald Kohn
Succeeded byStanley Fischer
Member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
In office
October 4, 2010 – February 3, 2018
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded byMark W. Olson
Succeeded byLisa D. Cook
In office
August 12, 1994 – February 17, 1997
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byWayne Angell
Succeeded byEdward Gramlich
11th President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
In office
June 14, 2004 – October 4, 2010
Preceded byRobert T. Parry
Succeeded byJohn C. Williams
18th Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
In office
February 18, 1997 – August 3, 1999
PresidentBill Clinton
Preceded byJoseph Stiglitz
Succeeded byMartin Neil Baily
Personal details
Born
Janet Louise Yellen

(1946-08-13) August 13, 1946 (age 78)
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
(m. 1978)
Children1
EducationBrown University (BA)
Yale University (MA, PhD)
Signature
Academic career
Institution
FieldMacroeconomics
Labor economics
School or
tradition
New Keynesian economics
Doctoral
advisor
James Tobin
Academic
advisors
Joseph Stiglitz
Doctoral
students
Charles Engel
InfluencesJohn Maynard Keynes
Information at IDEAS / RePEc
Academic background
ThesisEmployment, Output and Capital Accumulation in an Open Economy: A Disequilibrium Approach (1971)

Chair of the Federal Reserve

change

In October 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Yellen to be first female Chair of the Federal Reserve. She replaced Ben Bernanke. She chaired the Federal Reserve from February 3, 2014 until February 5, 2018. In November 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Jerome Powell to replace Yellen.[1]

Earlier, she was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Reserve System in the Clinton administration.

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury

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In November 2020, President-elect Joe Biden nominated Yellen to be the next United States Secretary of the Treasury.[2] She is the first woman to be Treasury secretary.[2]

The U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination with a vote of 84–15[3] on January 25, 2021.[4][5] With her swearing-in by Vice President Kamala Harris the next day,[6] Yellen became the first person in American history to lead the three most powerful economic bodies in the Federal government: the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and the White House Council of Economic Advisers.[7]

Personal

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She was born in Brooklyn, New York City, and has a Jewish background.[8] She is married to Nobel Prize winning economist George Akerlof.[9]

References

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  1. Gensler, Lauren (November 2, 2017). "Trump Taps Jerome Powell As Next Fed Chair In Call For Continuity". Forbes.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Janet Yellen Is Biden's Pick for Treasury Secretary". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  3. "Question: On the Nomination (Confirmation: Janet Louise Yellen, of California, to be Secretary of the Treasury )". Roll Call Vote 117th Congress - 1st Session. 25 January 2021. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021.
  4. "What They Are Saying: Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen Confirmed in a Historic, Bi-Partisan Senate Vote". Press Release. U.S. Department of the Treasury. 26 January 2021.
  5. Tappe, Anneken; Egan, Matt (January 25, 2021). "Janet Yellen is confirmed as the first female Treasury secretary in US history". CNN. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  6. Rappeport, Alan (2021-01-26). "Harris swears in Yellen as Treasury secretary, a first for women in both roles". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  7. "Janet L. Yellen Sworn In As 78th Secretary of the United States Department of the Treasury". Press Release. U.S. Department of the Treasury. 26 January 2021.
  8. Janet Yellen, the Jewish former Fed chief, is on Biden’s treasury secretary short list. Here’s what to know about her., Jewish Telegraphic Agency, November 20, 2020
  9. Smialek, Jeanna (2020-11-23). "Janet Yellen, Biden's Expected Treasury Pick, Has Broken More Than Gender Barriers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-24.