WASHINGTON, 31 May 2007 — Robert Zoellick, a Goldman Sachs bank executive who has built contacts around the globe as President Bush’s trade chief and as the country’s No. 2 diplomat, is the White House’s choice to be the next World Bank president.
The Bush administration, pummeled by the fallout after Paul Wolfowitz as head of the World Bank, turned to Zoellick, 53, an experienced Washington insider who served under Condoleezza Rice in the State Department and played a key role in the reunification of Germany in 1990.
Sources in the World Bank said the announcement followed careful negotiations by the US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson with leading governments, including Britain and Germany, in which Zoellick’s name was mentioned as the top choice.
Paulson, who headed up the search for the World Bank successor, was chairman at Goldman Sachs until 2006. One of the world’s largest global investment banks, Goldman Sachs acts as a financial adviser to some of the most important companies, largest governments, and wealthiest families in the world. It is a primary dealer in the US Treasury securities market.
Zoellick is described by former colleagues as a policy wonk and a master of detail who worked hard to get the role of US trade envoy. His background makes him familiar with the rigors of international diplomacy: Before his official jobs under Bush, he served as a protégé of James Baker, a longtime confidant of the Bush family.
Zoellick helped run two presidential election campaigns and served in the administration of Bush’s father.
Zoellick is also clearly part of this Bush administration’s inner circle. While he backed military action to oust Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein — he was one of the “Vulcans,” the core group of Bush foreign-policy advisers in the 2000 campaign — he is not seen as ideologically rigid, or a neoconservative like Wolfowitz.
While both men have been at the heart of Republican-dominated Washington for many years, the two have widely differing personalities. Zoellick is a technocrat and a veteran of the rough and tumble of international diplomacy as well as the corridors of power in Washington.
While Wolfowitz’s career advanced under the aegis of the pugnacious Dick Cheney, Zoellick’s progress followed that of James Baker, the consummate Republican insider.
Interestingly, it was Zoellick — not Wolfowitz — who was supposed to get the job two years ago. Colleagues say Zoellick had been tentatively selected as World Bank president when Condoleezza Rice named him as her deputy at the State Department. Zoellick is said to have reluctantly accepted, mainly out of loyalty, telling colleagues that he feared missing better opportunities later if he turned Rice down.
As trade czar, Zoellick became known for his skill in negotiations. Last year, he negotiated a peace accord between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebel groups, though the deal later collapsed. Zoellick also completed talks to grant China and Taiwan entry into the WTO, and worked on free-trade deals with countries outside the G-7. He completed free-trade pacts with Bahrain, Jordan, Vietnam, Singapore, Chile, Morocco and Australia.
