Ben Bernanke will be reappointed for a second term as chairman of the US Federal Reserve by President Barack Obama, a government official said on Monday.

The announcement will be made by Obama during a break from his vacation on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts on Tuesday, the official said on the condition of anonymity.

In his announcement, the president will praise Bernanke for his handling of the financial crisis, the most challenging turmoil since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Bernanke, 55, was appointed by former President George W. Bush to succeed Alan Greenspan. His four-year term as the head of the US central bank is due to end on Jan. 31 next year.

(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2009)