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The
World Bank will have a new president to be nominated by
US President George W. Bush in the person of former US
deputy secretary of state Robert Zoellick on July 1.
Zoellick,
also a former US trade representative, left the US
government in 2006. He was a peacemaker having
contributed immensely to the dampening of tensions with
US allies during the
Iraq
invasion.
In
contrast, Paul Wolfowitz, a former undersecretary of
defense, was a hawk in the Middle East arena. He was
considered the chief engineer in the campaign against
Saddam Hussein.
And so
was his girlfriend Shaha Riza in many ways, being the
World Bank employee who has attained celebrity status
for having shared with Wolfowitz a common vision for the
Middle East as they want it to happen.
What
will happen to Riza?
There is
no information as to what will happen to Riza after the
exit of Wolfowitz come June 30, his last day as World
Bank president.
Wolfowitz had helped approve pay raises for his
companion, Shaha Ali Riza, as compensation for forcing
her off the bank’s staff to avoid a conflict of
interest, according to news reports.
Riza was
moved to the State Department but was still paid by the
World Bank—handsomely. Her salary of $193,590 exceeded
that of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, according
to reports.
Rice
herself is the subject of scandalous reports for being
too personally close to President Bush. It is said that
wife Laura, the First Lady, isn’t very comfortable with
the relationship.
In
practice, the
US
president nominates World Bank presidents while it is
the European Community that appoints the managing
director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The
US is the biggest single shareholder of WB.
Nomination process
However,
because of the Wolfowitz-Riza controversy, there are now
calls for the appointment of WB presidents outside of
the US. Prominently mentioned is the name of outgoing
British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Wolfowitz is the 10th president of the World Bank. He is
chairman of the Bank’s board of executive directors and
also president of the five interrelated organizations
that make up the WB group.
In late
May, the executive directors met to discuss matters
related to the nomination and selection process for the
next president of the Bank and prepared a profile of key
qualities for nominees to guide the selection process.
Qualifications
According to the board, it believes it is essential for
the next World Bank president to have:
§
a proven
track record of leadership;
§
experience in managing large, international
organizations, a familiarity with the public sector and
a willingness to tackle governance reform;
§
a firm
commitment to development;
§
a
commitment to and appreciation for multilateral
cooperation; and
§
political objectivity and independence.
As the
selection process gets under way, the board expects an
intensive process of formal and informal consultation
with the executive directors on potential nominees.
In
addition, they noted that nominations may be made by any
executive director of the Bank and that the executive
director for the United States has informed them that
the United States will be nominating a candidate.
The
board expects to receive nominations no later than June
15, and to complete the process for the selection of the
president of the Bank by June 30.
E-mail: raulbvalino@yahoo.com.ph. |
