Janet Yellen was sworn in as Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President Bill Clinton.
On February 18, 1997, Janet Yellen was sworn in as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), one of the most influential economic advisory roles in the U.S. federal government. Appointed by President Bill Clinton, Yellen took on responsibility for advising the President on the full range of domestic and international economic policy issues, from labor markets to trade and fiscal policy.
Her appointment came after a distinguished academic career at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business, and prior service as a Federal Reserve Governor beginning in 1994. As CEA Chair, Yellen played a central role in shaping economic policy during a period of sustained American economic growth in the late 1990s, often referred to as part of the 'Great Moderation.'
This position placed her among a small number of women who had reached the highest echelons of U.S. economic policymaking, presaging the historic firsts she would later achieve at the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department. Her tenure demonstrated her expertise not only in monetary policy but also in fiscal and regulatory matters, broadening her credentials as a comprehensive economic policymaker and setting the stage for her subsequent leadership roles.