“Our mission as set forth by the Congress is a critical one,” Bernanke said yesterday.
Fed Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson administered the oath of office to Bernanke on Monday, as he did privately last week. Bernanke’s first day on the job was last Wednesday.
President Bush attended Monday’s ceremony, marking only the third visit by a president to the Federal Reserve.
Before becoming chief of the Fed, Bernanke, 52, served as the president’s top economist as chairman of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers.
“I came to trust his judgment, his calm demeanor and his sly sense of humor,” Bush said.
Former Fed Chairmen Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker also attended and were warmly applauded by staff members who lined majestic marble staircases leading to the event, which was held in a two-story atrium. The glass ceiling bears the coat of arms of the United States.
Greenspan, 79, the second-longest serving chairman of the Fed, retired last week after more than 18 years at the helm.
Bush praised Greenspan’s stewardship of the economy during that time. Greenspan, he said, was perhaps the only central banker to achieve “rock star status.”
A former Fed governor and Princeton economics professor, Bernanke said he recognized “taking up the challenge of leading an institution with such weighty responsibilities.”
