An economist who became Chairman of the Federal Reserve in 2005. He presided over the 2000s economic crisis, supervising the
bailouts and forced
mergers of a number of American
financial institutions. He was both lauded and criticized for favoring an expansive
monetary policy, which proponents claimed kept the American
economy from collapsing in the crisis, but which others argued would lead to
inflation. He is considered an expert on the Great Depression.