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Okonjo-Iweala tipped to head World Bank

The coordinating Minister of the economy and finance  Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been tipped to be amongst the candidates to be nominated from the developing … Continue reading Okonjo-Iweala tipped to head World Bank


The coordinating Minister of the economy and finance  Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been tipped to be amongst the candidates to be nominated from the developing countries to head the World Bank ahead of the planned resignation of the incumbent president.

According to Reuters, Dr Okonjo-Iweala and former Colombian Finance Minister, Jose Antonio Ocampo are the two tipped to be nominated to lead the World Bank, sources with knowledge of emerging market efforts to find candidates said on Tuesday.

The candidacies of Okonjo-Iweala and Ocampo, who have credentials as both economists and diplomats and according to sources the respective backing of Brazil and South Africa, pose a challenge to the United States, whose hold on the top post has never been contested.

But with its majority of votes and the expected support of European countries, the United States is still likely to ensure that another American will succeed Robert Zoellick, who plans to step down when his term expires at the end of June.

Washington has held the presidency since the Bank’s founding after World War II, while a European has always led the International Monetary Fund. It has yet to publicly identify a nominee to succeed Zoellick.

The decision to nominate Okonjo-Iweala and Ocampo followed weeks of discussions among emerging and developing countries at the World Bank board including China and India.

Two sources said South Africa’s director at the World Bank board, Renosi Mokate, who also represents Nigeria and other English-speaking African countries, personally flew to Abuja to consult with Okonjo-Iweala about her nomination.

“The impressive credentials of both Ocampo and Okonjo-Iweala puts tremendous pressure on the White House to come up with a candidate of at least equivalent standing,” said Domenico Lombardi, a former World Bank board official now at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

“This signals a big shift and really reflects a game change,” Lombardi added. “This is the first time in history we have a truly contested election.”

Okonjo-Iweala, who left the World Bank as managing director last year to become Nigeria’s finance minister, and Ocampo, a former U.N. under-secretary for economic and social affairs, will join American economist Jeffrey Sachs, who has the backing of a handful of small countries, on the nomination list.

The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, and the Obama administration has said it will name a candidate by then. All of the World Bank’s 187 members nations have committed to a merit-based process to select Zoellick’s successor.

Former Colombian Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo

Sources said Ocampo, currently a professor at Columbia University in New York, would be formally nominated by Brazil while Okonjo-Iweala could be nominated on Wednesday.

Nominations will be submitted to the 25-member World Bank board, which has said it will decide on the next president within the next month. The candidacy of Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy is said to have the blessing of President Goodluck Jonathan, who convinced her to join his cabinet last year to lend more weight to his reform agenda.

Emerging and developing economies have long talked up their desire to break U.S. and European dominance of the Bretton Woods Institutions, but have until now have failed to build a coalition large enough to change the status quo.

Sources with knowledge of the administration’s thinking say Washington has focused on convincing a woman to enter the race, which could go some way to address calls by emerging market nations for change. A woman has never led the bank.

Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was a leading contender, however, it is not clear she wants the job, sources have said. Former adviser to President Barack Obama, Lawrence Summers, has also been short-listed for the job. He has declined to comment.

The United States has insisted that to keep funding flowing from Congress for the World Bank, it is important to retain the presidency.

Lombardi said the test was whether large emerging economies like China would rally support for Ocampo and Okonjo-Iweala, or in the end vote for a U.S. nominee.

Last year, Brazil and China failed to rally around Mexico’s central bank chief, Agustin Carstens, for the top post at the IMF, instead favoring former French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, who now heads the institution. It is unclear if big emerging nations such as China and India would support a fellow developing nation candidate.