Donald Kohn

Donald Lewis Kohn (born November 7, 1942) is an American economist who served as the former Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He is considered a moderate dove on monetary policy. He retired after 40 years at the central bank in September, 2010 and currently serves on the Financial Policy Committee for the Bank of England and as a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution .

Early life and family

Kohn was born in Philadelphia and raised in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. He received a B.A. in economics in 1964 from The College of Wooster and a Ph.D. in economics in 1971 from the University of Michigan. Kohn and his wife, Gail, have two children, Laura Kohn and Jeffrey Kohn.

Career

Kohn is a veteran of the Federal Reserve System. Before becoming a member of the Board, he served on its staff as Adviser to the Board for Monetary Policy (2001-02), Secretary of the Federal Open Market Committee (1987-2002), Director of the Division of Monetary Affairs (1987-2001), and Deputy Staff Director for Monetary and Financial Policy (1983-87). He also held several positions in the Board's Division of Research and Statistics--Associate Director (1981-83), Chief of Capital Markets (1978-81), and Economist (1975-78). Dr. Kohn began his career as a Financial Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City (1970-75).