World Bank Elections to take place later this month - April 9, 2012

Interviews with three candidates to the World Bank presidency are occurring this week, as World Bank officials look to replace former president Robert Zoellick.The three candidates are as follows: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, José Antonio Ocampo, and Jim Yong Kim.  Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is currently the Finance Minister of Nigeria, and was considered a candidate for the World Bank presidency in 2007.  She was also a Managing Director at the World Bank from October 2007 to July 2011, as well has holding the position of Nigeria's Foreign Minister in 2006.  José Antonio Ocampo is currently a professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs and Director of the Economic and Political Development Concentration at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. He has previously held a number of positions, most notably as the Minister of Finance and Public Credit and as the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in Colombia, and as the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs at the UN.  Finally, Jim Yong Kim is the current president of Dartmouth College.  He was formerly the Char of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, in addition to being the co-founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit Partners in Health.The elections will be carried out by a 25-person panel, with each voter representing a different shareholder within the World Bank.  Contributing states have a right to proportional representation in the executive board; those states that contribute the most to the World Bank receive the most spots on the executive board.  The five nominated and 20 elected members of the executive board will vote April 21, 2012.  Further information about the three candidates, and their interview schedule, may be found here:

 http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:23159732~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html