Paul Volcker

This article is about the American central banker. For the German general, see Paul Völckers.

Paul Volcker
Volcker in 1989
Chair of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board
In office
February 6, 2009 – February 6, 2011
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byJeffrey R. Immelt (Council on Jobs and Competitiveness)
12th Chairman of the Federal Reserve
In office
August 6, 1979 – August 11, 1987
PresidentJimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
DeputyFrederick H. Schultz
Preston Martin
Manuel H. Johnson
Preceded byG. William Miller
Succeeded byAlan Greenspan
Member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
In office
August 6, 1979 – August 11, 1987
PresidentJimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
Preceded byWilliam Miller
Succeeded byAlan Greenspan
President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
In office
May 2, 1975 – August 5, 1979
Preceded byAlfred Hayes
Succeeded byAnthony M. Solomon
Personal details
Born
Paul Adolph Volcker Jr.

(1927-09-05)September 5, 1927
Cape May, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedDecember 8, 2019(2019-12-08) (aged 92)
New York City, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic[1][2]
Spouses
Barbara Bahnson
​
​
(m. 1954; died 1998)​
Anke Dening
​
(m. 2010)​
Children2
EducationPrinceton University (BA)
Harvard University (MA)
London School of Economics

Paul Adolph Volcker Jr. (September 5, 1927 – December 8, 2019) was an American economist who served as the 12th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987. During his tenure as chairman, Volcker was widely credited with having ended the high levels of inflation seen in the United States throughout the 1970s and early 1980s,[3] with measures known as the Volcker shock.[4][5][6] He previously served as the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 1975 to 1979.

President Jimmy Carter nominated him to succeed G. William Miller as Fed chairman and President Ronald Reagan renominated him once. Volcker did not seek a third term at the Fed and was succeeded by Alan Greenspan. After his retirement from the Board, he chaired the Economic Recovery Advisory Board under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2011 during the subprime mortgage crisis.[7]

  1. ^ Hoffman, Nicholas von (December 2, 1979). "Can Volcker Stand up to Inflation?". The New York Times. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  2. ^ Silk, Leonard (November 8, 1987). "Volcker on the CRASH". The New York Times. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  3. ^ "To Treat the Fed as Volcker Did". The New York Times. November 4, 2008. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  4. ^ "Volcker Shock: key economic indicators 1979-1987". Statista. October 10, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  5. ^ Matthews, Dylan (July 13, 2022). "How the Fed ended the last great American inflation — and how much it hurt". Vox. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  6. ^ Wolf, Zachary B. (July 27, 2022). "This kind of shock to the economy will have consequences". CNN. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  7. ^ "Obama Announces Economic Advisory Board" (Press release). White House Press Office. February 6, 2009.