World Bank President Zoellick Resigns
World Bank President Robert Zoellick said Wednesday he is stepping down, raising the possibility that a non-American might be chosen for the first time to head the 187-nation lending organization.
Zoellick, 58, informed the board he will leave June 30 at the end of a five-year term, during which he led the banks response to the global financial crisis.coach sandals bags outlet
The board now begins looking for a new president under guidelines directors adopted in 2011 calling for an open, merit-based and transparent selection process.
That suggests a break from the informal agreement that dates to the banks founding almost 68 years ago, under which the banks president is an American and the head of its sister institution, the International Monetary Fund, is a European.
(MORE: The Man Wholl Replace Wolfowitz)
There is no guarantee that a non-American will be chosen to again head the bank even though China is now the worlds second largest economy, and other countries with growing economic clout have been exerting pressure for a change in the U.S.-European arrangement.
The IMF was supposed to follow the same open selection guidelines when it searched for a new managing director last year, but wound up again choosing a European, former French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.
As Zoellicks term drew to a close, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers were mentioned as possible successors, though Clinton has said she is not interested in the job.
Zoellick, a Republican appointed by former President George W. Bush, has a good relationship with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other members of the Obama administration. But analysts who follow the bank and some senior members of its staff said they were not surprised he decided to leave.
His plans after leaving were unclear. Zoellick could return to the private sector, where he was once a senior adviser at Wall Streets Goldman Sachs investment firm. He could likely count on a high-ranking post if Republicans win the November elections, having served as deputy secretary of state and U.S. trade representative in the Bush administration.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said he did not know if President Barack Obama had spoken with Zoellick and had no information on possible successors. There has been much speculation but Im not going to confirm any of it, Carney said.
Zoellick said he will stay focused on being bank president until June 30 and will continue to drive policies and programs at a heightened tempo. For example, later this month the bank said he will unveil a groundbreaking study on the future structure of Chinas economic growth model.cheap coach store
