Washington, DC, United States (AHN) - Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn announced he will leave the central bank at the end of his four-year term on June 23.

Kohn, 67, is retiring after 40 years of service with the Federal Reserve where he began as a financial economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in 1970. Kohn has acted as vice chairman since 2003, working beside former Chairman Alan Greenspan and current Chairman Ben Bernanke.

"The Federal Reserve and the country owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Don Kohn for his invaluable contributions over 40 years of public service," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said. "Most recently, he brought his deep knowledge, experience, and wisdom to bear in helping to coordinate the Federal Reserve's response to the economic and financial crisis."

Kohn was born in November 1942 in Philadelphia, PA. He received a Ph. D in economics from the University of Michigan in 1971.

The announcement opens up another vacancy on the Fed Board of Governors, which is comprised of seven members, as the central bank readies to unwind its record asset buying programs.

Obama will need to appoint someone for the vice chairman position, a selection that will need to be confirmed by a Senate vote. Fed Chairman Bernanke recently was confirmed for a second term by a 70-30 Senate vote after Obama re-appointed him.