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Neel Kashkari, 42, named today to be the head of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, isn't entirely like past heads of the Fed around these parts.

For one thing, we're pretty sure he's the 

first Minneapolis Fed head to be on People's list of 

Banking and monetary policy generally don't go hand in hand with 

, but Kashkari slipped in on a bit of a technicality in 

" because nothing sets the heart to racing like the Troubled Asset Relief Program -- TARP -- also known as "the bailout."

 of it under Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. Both were former execs at Goldman Sachs. Paulson, you may recall, made a list of his own: Time's 

25 People Responsible for the Financial Crisis

It was messy, complicated, and unpopular.

“Hard choices are easy to make when you really don’t have a choice,” he said in 2008. “When the consequences of inaction are so grave we have to step in.”

He was played by Ayad Akhtar, who won a Pulitzer for drama in 2013.

In her book, Elizabeth Warren accused Kashkari of lying to her Congressional Oversight Panel about the bailout, a term he hated.

“At the same time we were receiving reassurances from the head of TARP that the big bailouts were finished, his colleagues were down the hall negotiating this gargantuan deal to bail out Citibank for a second time,” Warren said. “I was stunned – and furious. Our panel hadn’t even had our first organizational meeting, but whatever vision I’d had of cooperation and candor had vanished.”

He only worked for a few months when President Barack Obama became president, and -- unsurprisingly -- went back to Wall St., to help Pimco push into the equities business.

he described himself as a "different" kind of Republican

 who supports same-sex marriage and abortion rights.

Rolling Stone political writer Matt Taibbi called it "a gift from the blogging gods."

 during the campaign to try to find a job.

But not before turning in one of the more controversial political ads of 2014.

He followed that up with one designed to show he really wasn't 

He reportedly dropped $2 million of his own money on that race.

"The Minneapolis Fed has built a strong reputation for economic research and thought leadership as well as excellence in Bank operations. I am delighted that I will be working with the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis team to build on the Bank’s many achievements,” he said in the press release announcing his appointment today.

Most people don't know the name of the boss of the Minneapolis Fed. It's a safe bet they're going to know Kashkari's.

NewsCut

Bob Collins

Author

Neel Kashkari, 42, named today to be the head of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, isn't entirely like past heads of the Fed around these parts. Here's a few things to know about the guy.

Neel Kashkari, one of the most public faces of the federal government's response to the 2008 financial crisis, was named Tuesday to be the next president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

Meet your sexy new Fed boss, Minneapolis

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