Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has been named TIME magazine's Person of the Year for 2009.

The accolade comes as Congress is considering reappointing Bernanke to a second term as Fed chief. The actions of Bernanke and the central bank have come under increasing scrutiny in the months since last year's financial crisis.

Appearing on the Today Show to make the announcement, TIME managing editor Richard Stengel said that Bernanke and the Fed took great steps to avoid a depression in the wake of the financial crisis.

"He was the great scholar of the Depression, and basically he saw what looked like another Depression coming and he decided he would do whatever it takes to forestall that," he said. "And basically, I think he did."

While proponents of Bernanke's actions with the Fed have credited him for saving the economy, opponents have criticized the Fed chief for doing too little to regulate large financial institutions that collapsed and contributed to the financial crisis that crippled the U.S. economy.

Bernanke faced harsh words from these critics at his recent confirmation hearings, most notably from Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) who said he would do everything he could to stop his confirmation.

On Today, and in an article explaining TIME's decision, Stengel said that the chairman made mistakes, but has taken great steps to influence the economy and prevented it from looking "much, much worse."

"Bernanke didn't just learn from history; he wrote it himself and was damned if he was going to repeat it," he wrote.

"Bernanke decided to do the opposite of what the Fed did back in the '30s: he would loosen the money supply as far as it would go, he would save as many banks as he could, and he wasn't going to hector the American public about pulling up their socks."

Bernanke was appointed to his first term as Fed Chairman by George W. Bush in February 2006. The Senate Banking Committee is expected to vote on his confirmation Thursday morning.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has been named TIME magazine's Person of the Year for 2009. The accolade comes as Congress is considering reappointing Bernanke to a second term as Fed chief. The actions of Bernanke and the central bank have come under increasing scrutiny in the months since last year's financial crisis. (Market News Provided by RTTNews)