(Washington)- World Bank has named Jim Yong Kim as its next president. Dr. Kim, 52, will take over on July 1 after the current president, Robert B. Zoellick, steps down at the end of his five-year term.
For the first time, World Bank’s 25-member executive board considered more than one candidate. Numerous African countries had rallied around Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigerian finance minister and former World Bank managing director. José Antonio Ocampo, the former Colombian central banker and United Nations official, was also a candidate, though he withdrew from the race.
Ms. Okonjo-Iweala and Mr. Ocampo always faced long odds, given the composition of the World Bank board: Europe, the United States and Japan control about half of the voting shares.
