Janet Louise Yellen (born August 13, 1946) is an American economist serving as the 78th United States secretary of the treasury since January 26, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the 15th chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. Yellen is the first woman to hold each of those posts and the first person to have led the White House Council of Economic Advisers, the Federal Reserve, and the Treasury Department.Born and raised in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Yellen graduated from Brown University in 1967 and earned her PhD in economics from Yale University in 1971. She taught as an assistant professor at Harvard University from 1971 until 1976 when she began working for the Federal Reserve Board as an economist from 1977 to 1978, before joining the faculty of the London School of Economics from 1978 to 1980. Yellen is professor emeritus of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, where she has been a faculty member since 1980 and became the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor of Business and Professor of Economics.Yellen was a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 1994 to 1997 …
Janet Yellen
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- Aug. 13, 1946
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Janet Louise Yellen (born August 13, 1946) is an American economist serving as the 78th United States secretary of the treasury since January 26, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the 15th chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. Yellen is the first woman to hold each of those posts and the first person to have led the White House Council of Economic Advisers, the Federal Reserve, and the Treasury Department.Born and raised in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Yellen graduated from Brown University in 1967 and earned her PhD in economics from Yale University in 1971. She taught as an assistant professor at Harvard University from 1971 until 1976 when she began working for the Federal Reserve Board as an economist from 1977 to 1978, before joining the faculty of the London School of Economics from 1978 to 1980. Yellen is professor emeritus of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, where she has been a faculty member since 1980 and became the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor of Business and Professor of Economics.Yellen was a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 1994 to 1997 nominated to position by President Bill Clinton, who then named her chair of the Council of Economic Advisers from 1997 to 1999. Yellen later served as president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco from 2004 to 2010. Afterwards, President Barack Obama appointed her to replace Donald Kohn as vice chair of the Federal Reserve from 2010 to 2014, before nominating her to succeed Ben Bernanke as chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. She served one term and was succeeded by Jerome Powell after President Donald Trump had decided against her renomination. Following resignation from the Federal Reserve, Yellen was a distinguished fellow in residence with the Economic Studies Program at the Brookings Institution from 2018 to 2020. She returned to government with appointment as secretary of the treasury under President Joe Biden since January 26, 2021. Secretary Yellen has been confirmed by the United States Senate on five separate occasions.
