WASHINGTON, 1 April 2005 — The World Bank announced yesterday that it had appointed US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz as its next president to succeed James Wolfensohn from June. “The executive directors unanimously selected Mr. Paul Wolfowitz, effective June 1, 2005, to succeed Mr. Wolfensohn as president of the World Bank, when the latter retires on May 31, 2005,” the bank said in a statement.
Wolfowitz underscored his intention to pursue the bank’s “noble mission” of attacking global poverty. “I want to thank the board for their vote of confidence. It is humbling to be entrusted with the leadership of this critically important international institution,” he said in a statement.
Wolfowitz recalled that he had visited Brussels on Wednesday to meet European Union officials - part of a charm offensive by a “neoconservative” politician held in mistrust in many quarters of the world. “Their advice and questions were constructive, and I know they will continue to provide valuable guidance as I begin my tenure as an international civil servant,” Wolfowitz said.
“As I have said frequently, that mission - helping the poorest of the world to lift themselves out of poverty - is a noble mission or, as former (US) Secretary of State George Shultz said, ‘a beautiful mission’,” he added. “I believe deeply in that mission. Nothing is more gratifying than being able to help people in need and developing opportunities for all the people of the world to achieve their full potential.”
Wolfensohn, who is stepping down after a decade in one of the most influential international posts, paid credit to his successor. “He is a friend, and I know him to be a person of immense talent and high intellect. He will be an extremely dedicated and strong leader of the bank,” he said.
“He knows what a remarkable institution this is, he appreciates its outstanding team of development professionals, and I know he will bring continuity to its programs and its mission of fighting poverty,” he said.
“I will make every effort to ensure that our transition period is successful, so Paul can hit the ground running on June 1.”
The World Bank’s 24 executive directors, representing its 184 member nations, met to elect the successor to Wolfensohn. Wolfowitz was the sole candidate to serve as president of the International Monetary Fund’s sister institution. By tradition, an American leads the World Bank and a European the IMF.
European nations are begrudgingly ready to accept Wolfowitz in the influential role, despite viewing him with distrust because of his leading role in the war in Iraq. Wolfowitz stands accused not only of pushing a deeply unpopular invasion, but also of vastly underestimating Iraq’s postwar needs through a “neocon” belief that the fruits of US-imposed liberal economics would be immediate.
He will head an organization with nearly 10,000 staff that last year extended $20 billion in funding for development projects around the globe. As the directors opened their meeting, about a dozen protesters gathered outside the bank headquarters near the White House, riding a pantomime nag to denounce the “one-horse race” that will see Wolfowitz chosen as president.
“Even the lamest pony can win a one-horse race,” said Robert Weissman, director of the Essential Action campaign group, in a statement.
He said Wolfowitz had “no relevant experience but for his oversight of the reconstruction of Iraq — a project beset by corruption, cronyism and incompetence, and which has failed miserably at delivering water, health, security and other basic services promised to the Iraqi people”.
