The new head of the U. S. Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, was sworn in Monday in Washington, D.C.
Yellen had been the Vice Chair of the Fed, and is now first woman to lead the central bank in its 100 year history, and as such, is one of the most powerful women in the world.
The Fed is responsible for keeping prices stable and unemployment under control. She now takes the reins and will lead the Federal Reserve Board of Governors as that bank discusses and debates the tapering of its expansionary monetary policies.
While at the Federal Reserve Yellen was constantly concerned with the country’s high unemployment rate, she made it a point to push policies that would help to bring those rates down. It is highly likely that she will work to see what the central bank can do about that issue.
It was four months ago that Pres. Obama announced his intention to nominate Yellen for the post. She was confirmed on January 6 by the U.S. Senate.
Yellen took the oath for her new position that was administered by Gov. Daniel K Tarullo. she was joined at her swearing-in by her husband, Nobel prize winner George Ackerloff. She did not make any remarks after her swearing-in.
Yellen’s term as chair of the central bank will run until February 2018 but she will remain on the board through 2024. Yellen is taking over from former chairman Ben Bernanke, who pushed interest rates to historic lows as one part of the effort to pull the economy out of a slump.
Bernanke has joined the Brookings Institution, a group of scholars in Washington who study public economic, political, and strategic issues. Bernanke was a Princeton University economics professor before joining the Fed.