After serving the Federal Department for as long as 40 years, Donald Kohn, the vice chairman of the Federal Reserve has recently announced his plans to resign from the U. S. central bank as his term ends in June. Kohn, 67, played a very important role in overseeing the Fed's response to the financial meltdown in 2008.

In a letter to the American President Barack Obama, Kohn explained that it was a great privilege to have been part of the U. S. central bank for more than 40 years. He referred to his colleagues as 'individuals of extraordinary ability' and admired their dedication to the financial and economic stability of the country.

Kohn began his career as a Financial Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City as back as 1970, even before he received a Ph. D. in economics from the University of Michigan. It was in August 2002 that Kohn stepped up to become the member of the Board and has been its Vice Chairman since June 2006. He was also a member of the Federal Open Market Committee, from 1987 to 2002, which is the Fed's rate setting body.

While Fed's Chairman Ben Bernanke said that Kohn will be greatly missed but his departure has created three openings on the president-appointed Board of Governors.