NEW YORK, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Ben Bernanke, head of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, was nominated Monday to be the next head of the Federal Reserve.
Wall Street, which views Bernanke favorably, had expected the selection by President Bush, who said Bernanke had done "path-breaking" work in monetary policy. The Senate must approve Bernanke.
Current Fed chairman Alan Greenspan, 79, is set to retire Jan. 31 after an 18-year tenure that Bush called "outstanding."
Bernanke, 51, joined the Federal Reserve board in 2002 after teaching at Princeton University for 17 years. While on the central bank's board, Bernanke tackled some of the toughest questions facing monetary policy, including the threat of deflation.
He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Earlier this year, Bernanke was named to his current White House job, where he has been an advocate of the Fed adopting an explicit inflation target, as some other central banks do.
Greenspan was named Fed chairman by Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush. His economics Ph.D. was from New York University. Greenspan served as chairman of President Ford's Council of Economic Advisers.
