2 others battle Okonjo-Iweala for world Bank Presidency

WASHINGTON - The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank yesterday confirmed receipt of the nominations of Finance Minister, Dr. Ngonzi Okonjo-Iweala and two others for the position of the President of the World Bank.

Nomination for the position closed yesterday.

In the race with Okonjo- Iweala are Jim Yong Kim , a US national and President of Dartmouth College, New Hampshire and José Antonio Ocampo, former finance minister of Colombia and currently a professor at Columbia University, New York


Okonjo-Iweala doubles as Nigeria’s Coordinating Minister of the Economy.
The World Bank said its Executive Directors will, in accordance with the procedures previously announced, “conduct formal interviews of the three candidates in Washington, D.C. during the following weeks, with the expectation of selecting the new President by consensus by the 2012 Spring Meetings.”
Okonjo-Iweala formally joined the race for the top World Bank job yesterday. She was backed by Africa’s leading economies–Nigeria, South Africa and Angola–in a push for greater influence at global financial bodies dominated by rich nations.

Okonjo-Iweala, flanked by counterparts from South Africa and Angola, unveiled her candidacy at a press conference in Pretoria, putting the weight of Africa’s biggest economy and its two biggest oil producers behind her bid.

“I consider the World Bank a very important institution for the world and particularly for developing countries deserving of the best leadership,” she said.
“So, I look forward to a contest of very strong candidates, and am I confident? Absolutely.”

The African powerhouses unveiled their bid hours before the deadline for nominations to succeed current president, Robert Zoellick, who is stepping down at the end of his term on June 30.

The surprise announcement came just two days after her spokesman denied that she was angling for the job, which has been held by an American since it was founded nearly 70 years ago.
Colombian Ocampo, announced his candidacy Wednesday while President Obama nominated Kim who is global health expert yesterday.

Okonjo-Iweala is a respected former World Bank managing director who joined the Jonathan administration as finance minister in August.
“I have long experience in the World Bank, in government and in diplomacy and I look forward to giving you my vision at the appropriate time,” she said.

“I share the World Bank vision of fighting poverty with passion. The issue is in what direction one must take this to make this the most beneficial,” she said.
The World Bank has 187 member nations and focuses its activities on development loans