President George W. Bush has chosen Robert Zoellick as president of the World Bank
Dokladnie to co pisalem tydzien temu ze Americanin bedzie nowym szefem Banky Swiatowego
Zoellick was born in Naperville, Illinois, where he was raised, and has German ancestry.[3] He graduated in 1971 from Naperville Central High School. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1975 from Swarthmore College and received his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and a Master of Public Policy degree from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1981.[4][5] In 2002, Zoellick was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Saint Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Indiana. On May 30, 2007 President George W. Bush nominated Zoellick to become president of the World Bank, with Paul Wolfowitz formally stepping down on June 30.
Career
[edit] Government service (1985–1992)
Zoellick served in various positions at the Department of the Treasury from 1985 to 1988. He held positions including Counselor to Secretary James Baker, Executive Secretary of the Department, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Policy.
During George H. W. Bush's presidency, Zoellick served with Baker, by then Secretary of State, as Under Secretary of State for Economic and Agricultural Affairs, as well as Counselor to the Department (Under Secretary rank). In August 1992, Zoellick was appointed White House Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant to the President.[6] Zoellick was also appointed Bush's personal representative for the G7 Economic Summits in 1991 and 1992.
[edit] Business and academia (1993–2001)
After leaving government service, Zoellick was appointed an Executive Vice President at the Federal National Mortgage Association (1993–1997).[1][2] Zoellick served as the John M. Olin Professor of National Security at the U.S. Naval Academy (1997–1998), Research Scholar at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government, and Senior International Advisor to Goldman Sachs.[7][8]
Zoellick signed the 26 January 1998 letter [9] to Bill Clinton from PNAC which advocated war against Iraq.
During 1999 Zoellick was, for a short period, the head of the think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) [10]
In the 2000 U.S. presidential election campaign, Zoellick served as a foreign policy advisor to George W. Bush as part of a group, led by Condoleezza Rice, that called itself The Vulcans.
U.S. Trade Representative (2001–2005)
Zoellick was named U.S. Trade Representative at the beginning of the younger Bush's first term; he was a member of the Executive Office, with the rank of Ambassador. According to the U.S. Trade Representative website, Zoellick completed negotiations to bring China and Taiwan into the World Trade Organization (WTO); developed a strategy to launch new global trade negotiations at the WTO meeting in Doha, Qatar; shepherded Congressional action on the Jordan Free Trade Agreement and the Vietnam Trade Agreement; and worked with Congress to pass the Trade Act of 2002, which included new Trade Promotion Authority.[11] He also heavily promoted the Central American Free Trade Agreement over the objections of labor, environmental, and human rights groups.[12]
Zoellick played a key role in the U.S.-W.T.O. dispute against the European Union over genetically modified foods. The move sought to force genetically modified crops and food on the EU, which would not otherwise accept them, or be slow to do so. [13].
Deputy Secretary of State (2005–2006)
Zoellick (right) with Jan Pronk, the United Nations' special representative to Sudan.On January 7, 2005, Bush nominated Zoellick to be Deputy Secretary of State.[14] Zoellick assumed the office on February 22, 2005. The New York Times reported on May 25, 2006 that Zoellick could soon announce his departure. Zoellick agreed to serve as Deputy Secretary of State for not less than one year. He was seen as a major architect of the Bush administration's policies regarding China, and also the approach to a Darfur peace plan.[15]
During a trip to a Darfur refugee camp in 2005, Zoellick wore a bracelet with the motto, "Not on our watch." Zoellick was seen by many as the administration's strongest voice on Darfur. His resignation catalyzed groups, such as the Genocide Intervention Network, to praise his record on human rights issues
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush has chosen Robert Zoellick, a former U.S. trade representative, to replace Paul Wolfowitz as president of the World Bank, a senior American official said on Tuesday.
Bush plans to announce his selection on Wednesday and expects the bank's board to accept it, the administration official said. World Bank directors have never blocked a nomination in the past.
Bush wanted an American to succeed Wolfowitz, despite calls from World Bank member countries and some U.S. lawmakers to throw the process open to a global pool of candidates.
The controversy over Wolfowitz's authorization of a hefty pay raise for his companion, Middle East expert Shaha Riza, deepened rifts among bank staff already disgruntled by his anti-corruption agenda and prompted sharp criticism from shareholder countries.
Wolfowitz also was controversial because of his role as an architect of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq while serving as the No. 2 in Bush's Defense Department.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson received "positive reactions" from other countries to the choice of Zoellick, the administration official told reporters.
Zoellick left his job as deputy secretary of state last year to join Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs & Co.
He had been tipped as a candidate last year to become Treasury Secretary, but that job went to Goldman Sachs chief executive Paulson instead.
As Bush's first trade representative, Zoellick helped launch the Doha round of world trade talks and completed negotiations to bring China and Taiwan into the World Trade Organization. He continued a major focus on China as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's top deputy.
MIXED REACTION
"He's an outstanding choice. What he brings to the bank is an ability to get things done, an ability to work with people and an excellent reputation among foreign policy types across the world ... something we badly need," former Secretary of State James Baker, who has worked closely with Zoellick, told Reuters by telephone.
Baker acknowledged that Zoellick does not have extensive development experience, but said he was a pragmatist who "knows how to build coalitions and achieve consensus" -- crucial at a large bureaucratic organization like the World Bank.
Others were concerned about naming another Bush loyalist to head the bank and saw this as a missed opportunity.
"The second, high-ranking George W. Bush administration foreign policy, national security official in a row, I think is a mistake," said Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.
Zoellick was one of 18 mostly conservative figures, including former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, who wrote a much publicized letter to former President Bill Clinton in 1998 advocating removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq.
Soon after that he was chosen as a member of the "Vulcans" -- a group of about eight senior-level officials, mostly from President Bush's father's administration -- brought together under Rice to advise candidate George W. Bush on foreign policy before his 2000 presidential election.
"Zoellick is not particularly inspiring, but he had good relationships with European trade negotiators, and should not be widely opposed there, has good management skills and is smart," said Roger Bate, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
"I'm just doubtful if he'll really continue to push an anti-corruption agenda -- which he needs to do."
The World Bank board said in a statement it was essential the next president have a proven track record of leadership and experience of managing a large, international organization.
It also noted that any bank executive director could nominate a candidate.
The United States has traditionally selected the head of the World Bank since it was founded 60 years ago, while Europe has chosen the head of its sister organization, the International Monetary Fund.
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