WASHINGTON (AFP) – Christina Romer, a key economic advisor to President Barack Obama who championed the use of stimulus programs to pull the US economy out of recession, will step down next month, the White House said Thursday.
Romer, who chairs the White House Council of Economic Advisors, said the job had been the "honor of a lifetime," but that she wanted to return to California as her son began high school.
She will remain in office until September 3, when she plans to resume duties as a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, the White House said in a statement.
Obama said Romer had "provided extraordinary service to me and our country during a time of economic crisis and recovery."
"The challenges we faced demanded more of Christy than any of her predecessors, and I greatly valued and appreciated her skill, commitment and wise counsel," he added.
Obama said Romer would continue to provide guidance as a member of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, a panel of non-government experts who monitor the economic recovery and offer ideas.
Despite a tenure marked by economic turmoil, massive government stimulus and the continued specter of high unemployment, Romer said she would look back fondly on her time at the White House.
"While I look forward to returning to research and teaching, the opportunity to help shape economic policy these past 20 months, and to work with the other members of the economic team and my colleagues on the CEA, is one I will always cherish," she said.