Updated: Who will be the next World Bank President?

29 May 2007

A final decision may be announced this week. Robert Zoellick, former US Trade Representative and Deputy Secretary of State, is rumored to be the frontrunner.

There are a series of questions around the selection of the next President. First, will the US retain control of the process? Has the Wolfowitz scandal sparked any real reform in the 'old boys club' system through which the US basically appoints the leader of the Bank, and Europe the leader of the IMF?

Early reports are that this system has not changed, and that the US will name the next President. On Thursday, White House Spokesperson Tony Fratto said that Bush would announce a candidate to succeed Wolfowitz soon. Rumor is that this may have been a condition insisted on by the Bush administration in exchange for Paul Wolfowitz's resignation. 

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will lead the search, although Bush will make the final selection, the New York Times' Steve Weisman reports. "Mr. Paulson’s priority, they said, will be to find a capable and experienced manager, perhaps at a corporation, banking firm or even a university." Weisman also reports that Bush is eager to find someone right away, thus avoiding the need for an interim president.  

So who will be the next World Bank President? The White House has not disclosed any names, but the following individuals are likely to be on the shortlist:

While the search continues for the next leader of the World Bank, the Financial Times reports that in the interim, the six most senior managers have assumed control of the Bank's day-to-day operations. This "team of six" includes: Graeme Wheeler, Juan Jose Daboub, the two managing directors, Ana Palacio, the bank’s general counsel, Marwan Muasher, its external relations chief, Vincenzo LaVia, its chief finanical officer, and Lars Thunnel, head of its private sector arm IFC.

Names circulating as potential candidates for the next President:

Robert Zoellick: Suggested to be the current frontrunner in the May 29 Financial Times. Zoellick began his career in various government positions at the Department of Treasury. In 1992, Zoellick was appointed White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant to then President, George H. W. Bush. Following the 2000 U.S. Presidential election campaign, during which Zoellick worked alongside Condolezza Rice as a foreign policy advisor to George W. Bush, Zoellick was named the U.S. Trade Representative in 2001. He held this position until 2005 when he became the Deputy Secretary of State. Zoellick left this position after not more than a year, switching to investment banking where he took up the position of managing director and chairman of Goldman Sachs’ International Advisors department. Zoellick is said to be one of the main authors of the Bush Administration’s policies regarding China which he describes in a speech to the Asia Society. In addition, Zoellick has played an active role in encouraging the Darfur peace process, visiting Sudan on four occasions as noted in this Times Online article. In 1998, Zoellick signed on to a letter to President Bill Clinton calling for “removing Saddam’s regime from power” which is posted on the Project for the New American Century website. He is currently seen by many as the front runner.  

Stan Fischer: Currently Governor of the Bank of Israel. Fischer was a professor at MIT from 1977 until 1988. Following his work in academia, Fischer transitioned to work as Vice President of Development Economics and Chief Economist at the World Bank. He was then tapped to become the First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF from 1994 to 2001 where he was on the front lines during the Mexican peso collapse in 1994, the East-Asian financial crisis in 1997, the Russian default in 1998, among several others. Fischer then worked at Citigroup from 2002 until 2005 as Vice Chairman, President of Citigroup International and Head of the Public Sector Client Group. In 2005 the Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon and Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nominated Fischer to head the Bank of Israel. The Financial Times has noted that the Bush administration may shy away from Fischer due to his ties to the former Clinton administration.  

Ashraf Ghani: A social scientist with the World Bank who was the former Minister of Finance in Afghanistan. Currently the favorite of online betting site: www.ladbrokes.com. Read more about Ghani's qualifications on the American Chronicle website.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Former Nigerian Finance Minister and Foreign Minister, and has previously worked for the World Bank. Also the only woman who name is being actively mentioned. "She has been credited with a key role in fighting corruption and pushing economic reform in Nigeria during her three-year stint as finance minister. She also attempted to crack down on the "419" scam, in which fraudsters send emails, letters and faxes offering a share of a fictitious fortune. She studied at Harvard, and has a PhD in regional economics and development from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)," the Guardian writes. Okonjo-Iweala has told the paper that she has not been approached about the position.

Tony Blair: Blair would bring valuable prior experience in economic development, Edward Mortimer writes in the May 14 Financial Times. And, "By making this imaginative proposal, Mr Bush would do something to redeem his own international reputation and take the wind from the sails of his European critics. He would be breaking with a bad tradition, according to which leading international officials are chosen for their nationality, and inaugurating a better one, in which skill, experience and personal commitment to the institution's mission would count for more," Mortimer continues. Former World Bank Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz remarked to the Guardian that Blair's name is being actively considered.

Bill Frist: Former Senator from Tennessee. Highlighted as a frontrunner in the May 24 Wall Street Journal. UPDATE: The Associated Press is reporting that Frist has withdrawn his name from consideration.

Frist was rumored to be a favorite of Bush's national-security adviser Stephen Hadley, Greg Hitt writes. On worldbankpresident.org, Soren Ambrose comments: "While the WSJ and many others paint a benign portrait of Frist as "a heart surgeon who has traveled widely in Africa," that is hardly the whole story. Frist is the scion of a magnificently wealthy family that owns Columbia, one of the largest "managed health care" corporations in the U.S. -- that is, they own scads of hospitals and health insurance plans. Columbia has been at the forefront of developing and using its influence to maintain the reign of the wasteful and grossly imbalanced health care system in the U.S. -- the system exposed (again) in Michael Moore's newest film, "Sicko." Bill was its CEO, I believe...Frist was also a hardline servant of the Bush administration in the Senate, and widely ranked as politically inept as Senate Majority Leader...In short, Frist would hardly be a major step up from Wolfowitz."

Hank Paulson: current US Treasury Secretary

Robert Kimmett: Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, has also been mentioned by the FT.  

Carlos Gutierrez: Commerce Secretary and former chief executive at Kellogg Co. Mentioned in the May 24 Wall Street Journal.  

John Danforth: former senator from Missouri and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Mentioned in the May 24 Wall Street Journal.  

Douglas A. Warner III: former Chairman of JPMorgan Chase.

Richard Levin: President of Yale, and a close friend of President Bush

Andrew Natsios: Former head of USAID, is described by some as a long shot

Peter McPherson

Read the latest banter on these and other candidates on www.worldbankpresident.org