WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated a former senior Treasury official and a Harvard University professor to serve as governors of the US Federal Reserve, top policymakers at the country's central bank.

Obama announced his intent to nominate Jerome Powell and Jeremy Stein to serve on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the White House said in a statement.

Obama made the nominations as he was on vacation with his family in Hawaii. The nominations needed to be confirmed by the Senate, the upper chamber of Congress.

"I am grateful that these individuals have agreed to serve their nation at this important time for our economy. Their distinguished backgrounds and experience coupled with their impressive knowledge of economic and monetary policy make them tremendously qualified to serve in these important roles," Obama said.

Powell, a visiting scholar at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, DC, previously served as Undersecretary of the Treasury for Finance under President George H.W. Bush, with responsibility for policy on financial institutions, the treasury debt market and related areas, said the White House.

Stein, a professor of economics at Harvard University, is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Financial Advisory Roundtable. From February to July of 2009, he served in the Obama administration as a senior advisor to the Treasury Secretary and on the staff of the National Economic Council.