WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was named Person of the Year by Time magazine on Wednesday, a highly visible show of support at a time he seeks to beat back proposals that would erode the central bank's authority and independence.
Time credited Bernanke with creative leadership that ensured 2009 would be a year of recovery, however weak, rather than a catastrophic second Great Depression.
"The recession was the story of the year. Without Ben Bernanke ... it would have been a lot worse," Time managing editor Richard Stengel said in a statement.
"We've rarely had such a perfect revision of the cliche that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Bernanke didn't just learn from history; he wrote it himself and was damned if he was going to repeat it."
Time's selection of Bernanke, an expert on the Depression, is sure to be noticed on Capitol Hill, where Fed-bashing has been the norm in recent weeks.
It comes a day ahead of a vote in the Senate Banking Committee on his nomination to a second term. His first four-year term as Fed chief expires on January 31.
Congress is considering proposals that would strip the Fed, which was due to close out a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, of its regulatory authority over major banks and expose its interest rate decisions to audits.
One criticism that has been leveled at the Fed and the Obama administration is that despite efforts to prop up the financial system with billions of taxpayers' dollars, banks still show a reluctance to lend.
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