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| AP Photo Archive |
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| Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan prepares to answer questions following his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Capitol Hill Tuesday, July 16, 2002. |
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Alan Greenspan, long-time chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, retired from his 19-year position Jan. 31.
Greenspan is a respected and admired figure on Wall Street and Capitol Hill. He was appointed chairman in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan, succeeding Paul Volcker.
Since that time, he was successively appointed by four different presidents and has been credited with keeping inflation at historically low levels.
Born in 1926 to a Jewish family, Alan Greenspan attended Juilliard University from 1943 to 1944. After transferring to New York University, he completed his bachelor’s in economics in 1948. In 1950, Greenspan received his master’s degree in economics from Columbia University. Greenspan was awarded his doctorate in 1977, although he never completed a dissertation.
During the ‘50s and ‘60s, Greenspan befriended author-philosopher Ayn Rand. He was a supporter of her objectivism movement and wrote several articles for objectivist newsletters. He also contributed several essays to Rand’s 1966 book Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal.
In 1974, Greenspan served in his first governmental position as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors under Gerald Ford.
Aug. 11, 1987 he was confirmed chairman of the Federal Reserve. Just two months after his confirmation, Greenspan faced one of the toughest challenges of his career — the stock market crash and resulting recession.
Throughout his career, phrases from his notoriously confusing speeches were shown to influence national and international markets. The most famous example came in December 1996, when Greenspan commented on “irrational exuberance and unduly escalating stock prices” in Japan’s national stock market. The remark led to a 3.2 percent drop in Japanese stock prices.
“For nearly two decades, Chairman Greenspan has shepherded our economy through its highs and its lows. Under a steady chairmanship, the United States economy has come through a stock market crash, financial crises from Mexico to Asia, two recessions, corporate scandals and shocks ranging from devastating national disasters to a terrorist attack in the heart of America’s financial center,” said President George W. Bush.
Greenspan is succeeded as chairman by Ben Bernanke, a Harvard-educated economist and former White House economic adviser.
“I am pleased that the Senate has voted to confirm Ben Bernanke to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve,” Bush said. “Ben has provided wise counsel and good advice as a member of my economic team, and he will serve our nation with great distinction at the Federal Reserve.”
