In a surprise move, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis announced Friday that he will not seek a second term as leader of the bank.
Narayana Kocherlakota, who took over the bank in 2009 "so that I could be of service to my country in an economic emergency," said he told the board of directors that he will step down when his term ends in February 2016. I wrote a story for print about this that was edited and is available here.
"I have been honored to play a role in shaping the response to that dire situation," he said in a statement. "While challenges lie ahead for the Federal Reserve System, the state of crisis has passed, and I have decided not to continue my service into a new term."
Kocherlakota has made a name for himself as one of the most dovish members of the monetary policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee. Once considered a hawk, he reevaluated the data over his first few years as president of the Minneapolis Fed, and emerged in the past three years as a strong voice for continued economic stimulus.
He also has been an advocate for the Fed to articulate its aims and its strategies more explicitly.
Before his appointment as president, Kocherlakota served as a member of the Minneapolis Fed's Research staff, as well as a Research consultant for the Bank. His prior experience also includes professorships at the University of Minnesota, where he was chair of the Economics Department, and at Stanford University.
"My service as president has been the most rewarding period of my professional career," Kocherlakota added. "The people at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, and the people of the Federal Reserve System more generally, are fantastic contributors to their country. I have been humbled on a daily basis by their knowledge, their talent and their dedication. It has been an enormous honor for me to serve the public with them, and I am deeply thankful to the Minneapolis Fed's board of directors for giving me the opportunity to do so. I look forward to continuing to work with my Fed colleagues and the board of directors during the remainder of my time as president."
In a statement, Randy Hogan, chairman of the Minneapolis Fed's board of directors and CEO of Pentair, expressed his appreciation for Kocherlakota's service. "The board of directors thanks Narayana for his outstanding leadership and for his many contributions to the Bank and to the Federal Reserve System. Among those contributions, his focus on improving communication between the Bank and its constituents is a key legacy of his tenure and will serve as a guide for years to come. We look forward to working with him throughout the remainder of his term, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors."
