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Wanted – one new World Bank President
By
Susan Engel
Development Policy Blog
February 17, 2012
What has been unofficial public knowledge for well over a month now finally become public with the announcement that current World Bank President, Robert Zoellick, will not seek a further term when his contract runs out on the 30th of June this year.
Well before the announcement, speculation was running thick and fast regarding a likely successor. However, the more fundamental questions is whether ‑ this time ‑ the selection process will be open and merit-based.
As I outlined in a contribution to The Conversation last year on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) leadership debate, control of the so-called Bretton Woods twins, the IMF and the World Bank, has been governed by a gentleman’s agreement between the US and Europe. This agreement, the product of Cold War politics, sees the US select the head of the World Bank and the Europeans (normally the French) select the head of the IMF.
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