Alan Greenspan

Alan Greenspan who has served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (otherwise known as the Federal Reserve Bank) since June 20, 2000, completing his fourth four-year term on June 20, 2004, retired January 31, 2006. He was a member of the board of the Bank for International Settlements and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. President George W. Bush replaced Greenspan with Dr. Ben S. Bernanke. 

Overview
Dr. Greenspan also served as Chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee, the System's principal monetary policymaking body. He originally took office as Chairman and to fill an unexpired term as a member of the Board on August 11, 1987. Dr. Greenspan was reappointed to the Board to a full 14-year term, which began February 1, 1992. He has been designated Chairman by Presidents Ronald Reagan, George Herbert Walker Bush, and William Jefferson Clinton.

"Greenspan was born on March 6, 1926, in New York City. He received a B.S. in economics (summa cum laude) in 1948, an M.A. in economics in 1950, and a Ph.D. in economics in 1977, all from New York University. Dr. Greenspan also has performed advanced graduate study at Columbia University.

"From 1954 to 1974 and from 1977 to 1987, Dr. Greenspan was Chairman and President of Townsend-Greenspan & Co., Inc., an economic consulting firm in New York City. From 1974 to 1977, he served as Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers under President Gerald R. Ford, and from 1981 to 1983, as Chairman of the National Commission on Social Security Reform.

"Dr. Greenspan has also served as a member of ... the President's Economic Policy Advisory Board (Reagan), a member of Time magazine's Board of Economists, a senior adviser to the Brookings Institution Panel on Economic Activity, and a consultant to the Congressional Budget Office.

"His previous Presidential appointments include the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, the Commission on Financial Structure and Regulation, the Commission on an All-Volunteer Armed Force, and the Task Force on Economic Growth.

"Before his appointment to the Board, Dr. Greenspan served as a corporate director for Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa); Automatic Data Processing, Inc.; Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.; General Foods, Inc.; J.P. Morgan & Co., Inc.; Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York; Mobil Corporation; and The Pittston Company.

"His noncorporate positions have included Member of the Board of Trustees, The RAND Corporation; Director, Institute for International Economics; Member of the Board of Overseers, Hoover Institution (at Stanford University); and Vice Chairman and Trustee, Economic Club of New York.

"Dr. Greenspan has served as Chairman of the Conference of Business Economists, President and Fellow of the National Association of Business Economists, and Director of the National Economists Club.

"Dr. Greenspan has received honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, Pennsylvania, Leuven (Belgium), Notre Dame, Wake Forest and Colgate universities. His other awards include the Thomas Jefferson Award for the greatest public service performed by an elected or appointed official, presented by the American Institute for Public Service, 1976 (joint recipient with Dr. Arthur Burns and William Simon); election as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, 1989; decorated Legion of Honor (Commander) France, 2000; and honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire, 2002."

Copied from Federal Reserve Biography for Alan Greenspan.

Personal
Alan Greenspan is married to the NBC television correspondent, Andrea Mitchell.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * bank
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External articles

 * William Greider, "The One-Eyed King," The Nation, September 19, 2005 (posted September 1).

External resources

 * Alan Greenspan Video and Audio at MarketWatch
 * Alan Greenspan Biography, Investing Value, accessed October 2007.
 * Alan Greenspan, The School of Cooperative Individualism, accessed October 2007.
 * Alan Greenspan, Traders Log, accessed October 2007.