World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz is the global development lender's 10th president, and not the first to come with a controversial past.
WASHINGTON: World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz is the global development lender's 10th president, and not the first to come with a controversial past or to fight running battles with its staff.
Herewith a chronology of the nine previous presidents, all American:
1. Eugene Meyer (1946). A millionaire Wall Street financier, Meyer helped to set up the fledgling organization but his six-month tenure was marred by repeated clashes with executive directors.
2. John McCloy (1947-1949). McCloy served as president for 27 crucial months during which he strengthened the new bank's identity and bolstered the executive standing of the president after the problems encountered by Meyer.
3. Eugene Black (1949-1962). Black was an unwilling nominee after a successful career in finance. But in his 13 years in charge, he created the foundations of a World Bank devoted to alleviating global poverty.
4. George Woods (1963-1968). Another investment banker, Woods entrenched the emphasis on development, especially in agriculture and education, and greatly expanded the bank's economics research.
5. Robert McNamara (1968-1981). As US defense secretary, McNamara was indelibly linked to the increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam. As World Bank president, he became a tireless globetrotter overseeing a vast expansion in aid lending. The bank of today is largely McNamara's creation.
6. Alden 'Tom' Clausen (1981-1986). Clausen took over with the world economy deep in recession and US president Ronald Reagan holding the World Bank's work in profound suspicion. An economic liberal, he encouraged a more free-market approach to the bank's work with developing nations.
7. Barber Conable (1986-1991). The first World Bank head without much Wall Street experience, Conable was a career politician who pushed through painful changes including job cuts to slim the bank's bloated bureaucracy.
8. Lewis Preston (1991-1995). During a dramatic period in history, Preston welcomed the nations of the former Soviet Union into the World Bank and insisted on the need for more quality lending after years in which the bank was accused of being indiscriminate in its dealings with some unsavory governments.
9. James Wolfensohn (1995-2005). 'The world's banker' according to the title of one biography, Australian-born Wolfensohn campaigned against poverty with a fervor and broke new ground against corruption and for debt relief, two signature issues eagerly pursued by Wolfowitz during his stormy tenure.
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