Alan Greenspan
June 22, 2026
GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation mourns the passing of Alan Greenspan, who began his distinguished career in national public service as President Gerald R. Ford's Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and was later honored with the Foundation's 2003 Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service. He was 100.
Greenspan's decades of public service began in the Ford Administration, when he became Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in 1974 (just hours before Richard Nixon resigned on August 8). Leaving his successful private consulting firm, Townsend-Greenspan & Co., Greenspan served in the role until the conclusion of President Ford's administration in 1977, helping guide the nation's economic policy during a period marked by inflation, recession, and significant financial uncertainty.
President Ford often spoke of Greenspan's integrity, intellect, and commitment to public service. When presenting Greenspan with the inaugural Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service in 2003, President Ford remarked:
"Alan exemplifies what public service is all about. He left a very successful private venture to join my administration, beginning a long and distinguished career of public service."
Following his service in the Ford White House, Greenspan was appointed Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in 1987. Over nearly two decades, he led the nation's central bank through the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, becoming one of the most influential economic policymakers in modern American history.
A graduate of New York University, Greenspan earned bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in economics. After leaving the Federal Reserve in 2006, he founded Greenspan Associates, LLC.
Throughout his distinguished career, Greenspan received numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, France's Legion of Honor (Commander), and an honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire. He also served in a variety of public and private leadership roles throughout his career.
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation extends its deepest condolences to his wife, journalist Andrea Mitchell, and to all who knew and admired him.
Greenspan's legacy endures not only through his historic stewardship of the nation's economy, but also through his example of answering the call to public service—a principle that President Ford believed was essential to the strength of American democracy.
Read Alan Greenspan’s oral history, as given to Richard Norton Smith, here.
Dr. Alan Greenspan received the inaugural Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service in 20023 from President Ford.
(L-R) Counsellor John O. Marsh, Assistant to the President Dick Cheney, President Gerald R. Ford, Economic Adviser Alan Greenspan, and Chief of Staff Donald Rumsfeld watching a replay of the President’s Televised Address to the Nation on Recommendations for Tax Reduction and Spending. Inside the President’s private office in the White House on October 6, 1975. (Photo courtesy of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.)