Janet Yellen

Janet Yellen
Name	Janet Yellen
Caption	Official portrait, 2021
Office	78th United States Secretary of the Treasury
President	Joe Biden
Term start	January 26, 2021
Predecessor	Steven Mnuchin
Office1	15th Chair of the Federal Reserve
President1	Barack Obama, Donald Trump
Term start1	February 3, 2014
Term end1	February 3, 2018
Predecessor1	Ben Bernanke
Successor1	Jerome Powell
Office2	Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve
President2	Barack Obama
Term start2	October 4, 2010
Term end2	February 3, 2014
Predecessor2	Donald Kohn
Successor2	Stanley Fischer
Office3	President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Term start3	June 14, 2004
Term end3	October 4, 2010
Predecessor3	Robert Parry
Successor3	John C. Williams
Birth date	13 August 1946
Birth place	Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Spouse	George Akerlof, 1978
Education	Brown University (BA), Yale University (MA, PhD)

Janet Yellen is an American economist serving as the 78th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Joe Biden. She previously served as the 15th Chair of the Federal Reserve, the first woman to hold either position. A key architect of monetary policy following the Great Recession, her career spans prestigious academic posts, leadership roles within the Federal Reserve System, and influential government appointments.

Early life and education

Born in Brooklyn, she attended Fort Hamilton High School before enrolling at Brown University, where she graduated with a degree in economics in 1967. She then pursued graduate studies at Yale University, earning her PhD in 1971 under the guidance of Nobel laureate James Tobin. Her doctoral dissertation focused on employment and the dynamics of the business cycle, themes that would define her professional focus.

Academic career

Yellen began her teaching career as an assistant professor at Harvard University. She later joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business, where she became a full professor. During the Clinton administration, she took a leave from Berkeley to serve as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, appointed by President Bill Clinton. She also chaired the White House Council of Economic Advisers from 1997 to 1999.

Federal Reserve tenure

In 2004, Yellen became president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, a role in which she notably warned about risks in the subprime mortgage market. Appointed Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve by President Barack Obama in 2010, she played a central role in shaping the Federal Open Market Committee's response to the slow recovery. She succeeded Ben Bernanke as Chair in 2014, overseeing the cautious normalization of monetary policy and emphasizing data-dependent decisions on interest rates.

Secretary of the Treasury

Nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the United States Senate, Yellen was sworn in as United States Secretary of the Treasury in 2021. Her tenure has focused on implementing the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, advocating for global minimum corporate tax agreements through the OECD, and managing economic challenges including inflation and sanctions against Russia following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. She is also a proponent of modern monetary and climate-focused financial policies.

Economic views and policy

Yellen is recognized as a Keynesian economist, emphasizing the importance of government intervention to reduce unemployment. Her research has extensively analyzed labor markets and the causes of unemployment. As a policymaker, she has consistently prioritized maximum employment, viewing it as a critical goal alongside price stability. She has been a vocal advocate for using fiscal policy to address inequality and support workforce participation.

Personal life and awards

She is married to Nobel Prize-winning economist George Akerlof, a professor at Georgetown University; their son, Robert Akerlof, is also an economist. Yellen has received numerous honors, including the Adam Smith Award from the National Association for Business Economics and being named one of the world's most powerful women by Forbes and *Time*. She is a distinguished fellow of the American Economic Association and the Yale Corporation.

Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:United States Secretaries of the Treasury Category:Chairs of the Federal Reserve Category:American economists