The US Senate confirmed Janet Yellen Monday as the next head of the US Federal Reserve and the first woman to lead the central bank in its 100-year history, dpa reported.
Yellen, 67, currently serves as vice chairman of the Fed and will replace outgoing chairman Ben Bernanke next month.
The upper chamber of Congress voted to confirm Yellen 56-26.
Yellen's main task will be to oversee the exit from the country's unprecedented loose monetary policy, while making sure the current economic recovery is not put at risk.