Ben Shalom Bernanke is an American economist

Economist

An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...

, and the current Chairman

Chairman of the Federal Reserve

The Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the head of the central banking system of the United States. Known colloquially as "Chairman of the Fed," or in market circles "Fed Chairman" or "Fed Chief"...

 of the Federal Reserve, the central bank

Central bank

A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries...

 of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. During his tenure as Chairman, Bernanke has overseen the response of the Federal Reserve to late-2000s financial crisis

Late-2000s financial crisis

The late-2000s financial crisis is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s...

.

Bernanke was a tenured professor at Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

 and was chair of the Department of Economics there from 1996 to September 2002, when he went on public service leave. From 2002 until 2005, he served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.