Timeline Tuesday 31 January 2006

Events on Tuesday 31 January 2006 1

• 2006 Retires after 18 years — the Maestro departs Greenspan retires as Federal Reserve Chairman on 31 January 2006, succeeded by Ben Bernanke. He is 79 years old and has served 18 years and 6 months — the second-longest tenure in the Fed's history. He is celebrated as 'the Maestro' — the title of Bob Woodward's 2000 biography — who had guided the US economy through the longest peacetime expansion in history (1991-2001). Time magazine puts him on its cover as one of the 'Committee to Save the World.' His retirement is marked by universal praise. Two years later, everything changes.