The new world bank president will be from the global south
Having worked at the World Bank for almost 10 years, I understand the importance of selecting a new leader that understands development challenges, and that is both business and politically savvy. These skills are invaluable to the new President to effectively address climate, energy, food, and debt crises.
Just a bit of background. The World Bank was established at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference in New Hampshire, along with the International Monetary Fund. While the Bank (which is how practitioners call it) kicked off its work to assist rebuild Europe after World War II, it has become the largest development bank with over US$ 700 billion annual budget to provide loans, grants and technical assistance to low income and middle-income countries. The main objectives of these loans and grants are to reduce poverty and build shared prosperity. The World Bank is traditionally led by an American President while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by a European Managing Director. This is because the US and the EU are the largest shareholders of these organizations. China is the third largest shareholder.
As the current President, Mr. Malpass, (who was appointed by the Trump Administration) recently announced its resignation before the end of his 5 years term, the White House moved swiftly to nominate a new candidate…
