Fed boss Bernanke is Time's Person of the Year

Ben Bernanke, the head of the U.S. central bank, is Time magazine's Person of the Year, the publication revealed Wednesday.

The chairman of the Federal Reserve, Bernanke has helped steer the U.S. economy through the recession.

Time magazine international editor Michael Elliott said the publication picked Bernanke because the economy was the key issue of 2009.

"We identified the chairman of the U.S. Fed as the key person in steering the world's largest economy and the global economy as a whole, for that matter, towards a position where we can at least begin to see a little bit of daylight — a little bit of recovery — and away from the possibility that this really could have been a truly great depression for the ages," he said.

Bernanke follows 2008 winner — then president-elect Barack Obama — and 2007 winner, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Last week, Bernanke said he expects "modest" economic growth for the United States next year. He said that should help push down the U.S. unemployment rate — now at 10 per cent — "but at a pace slower than we would like," he said.

Bernanke is to find out Thursday if he will get a second term in his role running the Fed.