Alan Greenspan (born March 6, 1926) is an American economist and was Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States from 1987 to 2006. Following his retirement as Fed chairman, he accepted an honorary (unpaid) position at HM Treasury in the United Kingdom.

First appointed Fed chairman by President Ronald Reagan in August 1987, he was reappointed at successive four-year intervals until retiring on January 31, 2006, at which time he relinquished the chairmanship to Ben Bernanke. Greenspan was lauded for his handling of the Black Monday stock market crash that occurred very shortly after he first became chairman, as well as for his stewardship of the Internet-driven, "dot-com" economic boom of the 1990s. However, this expansion culminated in a stock market bubble burst in March 2000 followed by a recession in 2001–2002.

From 2001 until his retirement, he was increasingly criticized for some statements seen as overstepping the Fed's traditional purview of monetary policy, and viewed by others as overly supportive of the policies of President George W. Bush, as well as for policies seen as leading to a housing bubble. Greenspan was nonetheless still generally considered during that time to be the leading authority on American domestic economic and monetary policy, and his active influence continues to this day.

On June 2, 1987 President Reagan nominated Dr. Greenspan as a successor to Paul Volcker as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank, and the Senate confirmed him on August 11, 1987. After the nomination, bond markets experienced their biggest one-day drop in 5 years. Just two months after his confirmation he was faced with his first crisis -- the 1987 stock market crash. His terse statement, "the Fed stands ready to provide all necessary liquidity" is seen as having been effective in controlling the damage from that crash. Another famous example of the effect of his closely-parsed comments was his December 5, 1996 remark about "irrational exuberance and unduly escalating stock prices" that led Japanese stocks to fall 3.2%.

Earlier image of Alan Greenspan

Greenspan was famous for his ability to give technical and confusing speeches. U.S. News & World Report reported that, "Few can confuse Wall Street as thoroughly as Federal Reserve Bank’s Board Chairman Alan Greenspan can." Greenspan was sometimes so hard to understand that the Motley Fool radio show included a game called "What Did the Fed Chief Say?", where contestants were challenged to interpret snippets of Greenspan's speeches . Greenspan mocked his own speaking style in 1988 when he said, "I guess I should warn you, if I turn out to be particularly clear, you've probably misunderstood what I said."

On May 18, 2004, he was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve for an unprecedented fifth term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank. He was previously appointed to the post by Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Greenspan was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States, by President George W. Bush in November 2005. His honorary titles include Knight Commander of the British Empire, bestowed in 2002 and Commander of the Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honor).

Greenspan's term as a member of the Board ended on January 31, 2006, and Ben Bernanke was confirmed as his successor. Bernanke is a former chairman of the U.S. President's Council of Economic Advisers, and his appointment is seen in part as a move to effect a smooth transition. He disagrees with Greenspan on the question of "inflation targeting," a practice in which the Fed. Bank makes public a projected inflation rate, effecting a greater transparency in likely Fed. Bank moves to raise or ti make lower short-term interest rates. Inflation targeting arguably reduces certain forms of economic volatility. Bernanke is for a targeted minimum level of inflation, Greenspan against.

Greenspan now works as a private advisor, maked speeches and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC. He is also working on his own memories.