Controversy surrounds appointment of Wolfowitz to lead World Bank
16 March 2005
The appointment represents the outcome of an opaque and undemocratic selection process and raises serious questions about the future trajectory of the World Bank Group.
On March 31, 2005, the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors unanimously confirmed the nomination of Paul D. Wolfowitz to be President of the World Bank. This comes amidst widespread public outcry against the undemocratic and secretive selection process as well as serious questions about the strategic directions in which Wolfowitz might lead the Bank in years to come, given his highly controversial career. For the most up-to-date independent information, see www.worldbankpresident.org
World Bank Board Members Urged to Challenge Unilateral Nomination Process
Bank Information Center statement following the announcement of the Wolfowitz nomination, March 16, 2005
The U.S. nomination of Paul Wolfowitz to be the next president of the World Bank represents the outcome of an opaque and undemocratic selection process. Over the past several months, despite growing public attention to the selection of the World Bank president, many civil society organizations have expressed surprise at the lack of proactive attempts to make the process more transparent or democratic. There have been few, if any, public statements or challenges issued by other member governments of the World Bank to the secretive process by which the president is chosen -- or to the unwritten rule which gives the U.S. virtually unilateral power to nominate the institution's leader. Strikingly, the continuation of U.S. control over the selection of the institution’s leader is itself antithetical to multilateralism.
Wolfowitz’s nomination raises serious questions about the future trajectory of the World Bank Group and suggests a narrowing convergence between U.S. geopolitical interests and the operations of the International Financial Institutions (IFIs). Does the nomination of Wolfowitz represent a return to “strategic lending" in which U.S. foreign policy shapes World Bank activities? Past attempts in this regard have failed repeatedly. Many are also asking what this nomination, as well as that of John Bolton to the United Nations, signifies about the U.S. Government’s future engagement in multilateral institutions.
Wolfowitz is not an obscure figure, but a controversial actor on the world stage, whose nomination reflects substantial political maneuvering on the part of the United States. Allowing this process to proceed unchecked or unchallenged would be a troubling development at a time of heightened global concern about the role of the U.S. in the international arena.
Five years ago, the U.S. successfully challenged the European appointment for president of the International Monetary Fund, Caio Koch-Weser, whose nomination was subsequently withdrawn. While reactions to Wolfowitz’s candidacy emerge and public opposition mounts, BIC urges member governments of the World Bank to propose additional candidates and push for a genuine opening of the process to greater public scrutiny.
Urgent efforts are needed to render the presidential selection more democratic and transparent, and, ultimately, to reinforce the accountability of the World Bank's governing body to the public that the institution is designed to serve.
Contact:
- Manish Bapna- Bank Information Center Director
+1-202-624-0623; - Karen Showalter- Bank Information Center Information Services Coordinator
+1-202-624-0632;
Additional Resources
Press
- A Neocon at the World Bank? 3 letters to the editor, New York Times, March 18, 2005 (NYT website)
- Wolfowitz Faces Uneasy Transition to World Bank, by Lesley Wroughton, Reuters, March 17, 2005 (reuters.com)
- Esperanto for Neocons, LA Times editorial, March 17, 2005 (LATimes.com)
- Short Slams Bush Choice for World Bank Chief, by Nick Allen, PA Chief Reporter, March 16, 2005 (news.scotsman.com)
- Wolfowitz nomination a shock for Europe, by Alden, Swann, and Dinmore, Financial Times, March 16, 2005 (FT website)
- Shareholders' dismay at lack of consultation, by Beattie and Alden, Financial Times, March 16, 2005 (FT website)
- A hawk to ruffle the World Bank's feathers, the Economist, March 16, 2005 (Economist.com)
Civil Society Reactions
- Massive Response to International Petition Against Wolfowitz as World Bank President- More than 1250 organisations and individuals signed up in protest, EURODAD press release, March 18, 2005 (EURODAD website)
- CEE Bankwatch Network statement, March 17, 2005
- Why Wolfowitz? by Jim Vallette, SEEN, March 17, 2005 (tompaine.com)
- Paul Wolfowitz nominated as World Bank President, EURODAD, March 16, 2005
- Opposition swells to appointment of Wolfowitz to head World Bank, Bretton Woods Project, March 16, 2005
- Wolfowitz to World Bank!? – Critics Amazed 50 Years is Enough Network press release, March 16, 2005
- IRN Shocked about US Pick for World Bank President, IRN press release, March 16, 2005
- Read press releases from other organizations at www.ifiwatchnet.org
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