Reuters reports that today George W. Bush reappointed Alan Greenspan to a fifth term as chairman of the Federal Reserve:
Alan Greenspan will take the helm of the U.S. Federal Reserve for a fifth term with his reputation as the world’s top central banker intact, though a little less gilded than it was during the golden 1990s.
With the White House’s blessing on Tuesday, the 78-year-old Greenspan will stay on in the role he has held since August 1987.
President George W. Bush wants him “to serve as long as possible,” a White House spokesman said. His current term as chairman is scheduled to end June 20. […]
His tenure could make history even without a full four-year stretch. If he holds the Fed chair until June 2006, Greenspan will be the longest-serving chairman in the U.S. central bank’s 91-year history.
The article provides some interesting background, as well, for those who have not yet read Greenspan’s bio:
A longtime Republican, Greenspan in his youth was a friend and associate of late novelist Ayn Rand, who espoused the supremacy of the free markets and the profit motive in books such as “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead.”
When President Ronald Reagan named him to succeed the legendary Volcker in 1987, Greenspan was the favored candidate on Wall Street. But some were worried about whether he could live up to the reputation of the tough-minded Volcker.
Greenspan quickly proved his mettle. The “Black Monday” stock market crash of October 1987 came just two months after he took office.
In what is now seen as a textbook example of how to handle crises, Greenspan opened up the monetary spigots to keep the financial system from seizing up.
The move was widely seen as having staved off a recession in the U.S. economy. While a recession did later ensue a few years later, it was not a result of the market crash.
See the full article for further details.