Jim Yong Kim Takes the World Bank Presidency

The World Bank has a new president. In keeping with a tradition that has held for the last six and a half decades, the entity will continue to be led by a representative of the United States. Robert Zoellick’s successor is Jim Yong Kim, president of the prestigious Dartmouth University. He prevailed over candidates Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigerian finance minister, and the former finance minister of Colombia, José Antonio Ocampo.

Ocampo had already announced on Friday, after the round of interviews with members of the Executive Committee, that he was withdrawing from the battle for the leadership of the World Bank and lending his support to the candidature of Okonjo-Iweala. But the selection process, despite being open, transparent and based in the merits of the candidates, once again drew raised voices against the duopoly of the U.S. and Europe in the Bretton Woods institutions.

Kim will relieve Zoellick in the position on July 1 for a five-year mandate. He will be the 10th person to direct the Washington-based organization. The doctor and anthropologist will be officially presented during the Spring Meetings celebrated this week together with the International Monetary Fund. In the press release announcing his selection, the Executive Committee limited themselves to declaring that the three candidates “enriched” the discussion on the role of the president and the future direction of the institution.

Kim, born in South Korea before emigrating to the U.S. as a child, was almost assured the position since the moment President Barack Obama presented him to the world last month. Washington is the largest contributor to the entity and, with its partners in the European block, controlled essentially half of the votes necessary for Kim’s candidature to be a success. Japan also gave its formal support to Obama’s candidate.

The Nigerian candidate’s fight served, therefore, to apply more pressure and put in sharp relief the continued unbalance in the power structure of the World Bank. A similar moment was lived a year ago when Christine Lagarde of France replaced her compatriot Dominique Strauss-Kahn. The strength of alternative candidates is what puts in question the system of appointment followed in the twin institutions.

As long as the U.S. and Europe fail to cede power, the emerging powers in the developing world will have no other option but to continue presenting competitive candidates to break tradition using argument. As some 40 high-level, long-term officers of the World Bank indicated some days ago, to give more legitimacy to the organization it is necessary to go beyond simple promises of reform. It was their way of supporting Okonjo-Iweala.