This is the VOA Special English Development Report.
Robert Zoellick is President Bush's choice to head the World Bank. He is
fifty-three years old and currently a vice chairman at Goldman Sachs, the New
York investment bank. He has held a number of government positions over the
years.
From two thousand one to 2005 he served as the United States trade
representative. He helped launch the Doha Round of world trade talks which were
suspended last July. He also worked on free trade agreements with Singapore,
Chile, Australia and Morocco.
In 2005, President Bush asked Mister Zoellick to become deputy secretary of
state. There, he helped negotiate a peace agreement between the government of
Sudan and rebels in Darfur. That agreement later collapsed. He resigned in June
of last year to join Goldman Sachs.
But last week, President Bush nominated Bob Zoellick to a five-year term as
the eleventh president of the World Bank. The board of governors at the bank is
expected to confirm the choice to replace Paul Wolfowitz.
Mister Wolfowitz resigned last month; his last day is June thirtieth. An
investigation found that he violated bank rules in two thousand five when he
negotiated a pay increase for his girlfriend, a bank employee. He denied any
wrongdoing and said bank officials shared responsibility for the dispute. He
joined the bank as president in two thousand five after serving as deputy
secretary of defense.
European nations led efforts to remove Paul Wolfowitz, accusing him of
corruption over the pay issue. But they generally did not support a change in
the appointment process. Traditionally, the United States has appointed the
World Bank chief while Europe has chosen leaders for the International Monetary
Fund. The two lenders were created in the 1940s.
Some countries, however, have criticized the sixty-year-old tradition. They
say it makes the development lenders into tools of rich nations. Brazil, South
Africa and Australia urged the United States to appoint a new bank president
using an open process not limited by nationality.
The World Bank is owned by its 184 member nations. Many development experts
and others are calling for reforms in its operations and its lending policies
for poor countries. But rebuilding relations and respect could be Robert
Zoellick's first job.
And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss.
I'm Shep O'Neal.
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