President of the World Bank Group
The President of the World Bank Group is the head of World Bank Group. The president is responsible for chairing the meetings of the Boards of Directors and for overall management of the World Bank Group. Traditionally, the World Bank Group President has always been an American citizen nominated by the United States, the largest shareholder in the World Bank Group. The nominee is subject to confirmation by the Board of Executive Directors, to serve for a five-year, renewable term. While most World Bank Group presidents have had banking experience, some have not.[1][2]
President of World Bank Group | |
---|---|
![]() World Bank Logo | |
Term length | Five years, renewable |
Website | www.worldbank.org |
List of World Bank Group Presidents
- Status
# | Portrait | Name | Dates | Nationality | Background | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Eugene Meyer | 1946 | ![]() |
Newspaper publisher | First World Bank Group President |
2 | ![]() |
John J. McCloy | 1947–1949 | ![]() |
Lawyer and US Assistant Secretary of War | First World Bank Group President with military background |
3 | ![]() |
Eugene R. Black, Sr. | 1949–1963 | ![]() |
Bank executive with Chase Manhattan Bank and executive director with the World Bank | |
4 | George Woods | 1963–1968 | ![]() |
Bank executive with First Boston Corporation | ||
5 | ![]() |
Robert McNamara | 1968–1981 | ![]() |
US Secretary of Defense, business executive with Ford Motor Company | |
6 | Alden W. Clausen | 1981–1986 | ![]() |
Lawyer, bank executive with Bank of America | ||
7 | ![]() |
Barber Conable | 1986–1991 | ![]() |
New York State Senator and US Congressman | |
8 | Lewis T. Preston | 1991–1995 | ![]() |
Bank executive with J.P. Morgan & Co. | ||
9 | ![]() |
Sir James Wolfensohn | 1995–2005 | ![]() ![]() |
Corporate lawyer and banker | First World Bank Group President born outside United States.
First World Bank Group President from Australia |
10 | ![]() |
Paul Wolfowitz | 2005–2007 | ![]() |
Various cabinet and government positions; US Ambassador to Indonesia, US Deputy Secretary of Defense | |
11 | ![]() |
Robert Zoellick | 2007–2012 | ![]() |
Bank executive with Goldman Sachs, Deputy Secretary of State and US Trade Representative | |
12 | ![]() |
Jim Yong Kim | 2012–2019 | ![]() ![]() |
Korean-American physician and anthropologist, co-founder of Partners in Health and 17th President of Dartmouth College.[3] | First World Bank Group President born in Asia.
First World Bank Group President from South Korea. |
– | ![]() |
Kristalina Georgieva Acting |
2019 | ![]() |
Chief Executive of the World Bank.
European Commissioner for the Budget and Human Resources during Juncker Commission. European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development during Barroso Commission. European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management during Barroso Commission. |
First woman serving as the World Bank Group President
First acting World Bank Group President. First World Bank Group President born in Europe. First World Bank Group President from European Union and from Bulgaria.[4][5] |
13 | ![]() |
David Malpass | 2019–present | ![]() |
Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, chief economist at Bear Stearns |
References
- Hurlburt, Heather (March 23, 2012). "Why Jim Yong Kim would make a great World Bank president". The Guardian. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
- World Bank. "Leadership". World Bank Group. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
- Reuters (April 16, 2012). "Jim Yong Kim chosen to head World Bank". CNN IBN. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
- "Kristalina Georgieva Appointed Chief Executive Officer of IBRD/IDA". World Bank. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
- "The World Bank's new CEO Kristalina Georgieva lays out her vision for an agile bank". Devex. April 17, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
Notes
- The World Bank President is traditionally an American citizen. Wolfensohn was naturalized as American citizen before taking office.