Who is Janet Yellen - Biden's pick for Secretary of the Treasury

Janet-Yellen-Biden's-pick-for-Secretary-of-the-Treasury - Photo: Cbsnews.com

Who is Janet Yellen?

Yellen, 74, has had a long career of breaking glass ceilings for women and handling big crises. If confirmed by the Senate, she would be the first woman to lead the Treasury Department since the institution was founded in 1789, Washingtonpost reported.

Biden's pick for Secretary of the Treasury

President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, an economist at the forefront of policy-making for three decades, to become the next Treasury secretary, according to people familiar with the decision.

If confirmed by the Senate, Ms. Yellen would become the first woman to hold the job. Mr. Biden’s selection positions the 74-year-old labor economist to lead his administration’s efforts to further the recovery from the destruction caused by the coronavirus pandemic and shutdowns.

Ms. Yellen, who was the first woman to lead the Fed, would become the first person to have headed the Treasury, the central bank and the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Wsj noted.

Who is Janet Yellen - Biden's pick for Secretary of the Treasury
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“We face great challenges as a country right now. To recover, we must restore the American dream—a society where each person can rise to their potential and dream even bigger for their children,” Yellen tweeted after her nomination. “As Treasury Secretary, I will work every day towards rebuilding that dream for all.”, Forbes reported.

Early life and Education

Janet Yellen was born into a middle-class Jewish family in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Aug. 13, 1946. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a doctor, and she eventually became editor of the Fort Hamilton High School newspaper, from which she graduated as valedictorian. She graduated summa cum laude with an economics degree from Brown University in 1967 and went on to receive her Ph.D. from Yale University in 1971. She then worked as a professor at several prestigious universities, including Harvard, The London School of Economics and the University of California at Berkeley, Investopedia regared.

Yellen's Early Politics Career

She was a Fed Board member between 1994 and 1997. President Bill Clinton appointed her as the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers between 1997 and 1999. She was the chair of the Economic Policy Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development at the same time.

Dr. Yellen was the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco between 2004 and 2010. She became vice-chair of the Fed Board of Governors between October 2010 and February 2014. This four-year term coincided with a 14-year term as a board member.

After leaving the Fed, Dr. Yellen became the Distinguished Fellow in Residence with the Economic Studies program at the Brookings Institution. She was affiliated with the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. She was also an adviser to the Magellan Group.1

She has served in high positions at the Western Economic Association, American Economic Association, and Yale Corporation. She is a member of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Thebalance noted.

Family Background

Who is Janet Yellen - Biden's pick for Secretary of the Treasury
Photo: Celebfamily.com

Parents

Her mother was Anna (née Blumenthal) and her father, Julius Yellen, was a physician. Originally, her father’s family came from Polish town of Suwałki.

Marriage and Children

Her husband, George Akerlof, is a professor at Georgetown University, Nobel prize-winning economist. He is also retired professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Celebfamily listed.

*Check out Full List of Biden's Cabinet HERE!

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