Okonjo-Iweala set to be nominated for W’Bank job

Despite a denial on Wednesday, it has emerged that the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and former Colombian Finance Minister, Jose Antonio Ocampo, are set to be nominated to lead the World Bank.
Reuters, which reported the impending nomination of the duo, credited the information to sources with knowledge of emerging market’s efforts to find candidates to replace the current President of the World Bank, Mr. Robert Zoellick.
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.
However, Okonjo-Iweala’s spokesman, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, told AFP, “The minister has not put herself forward for the position. She is not seeking it,” though he could not say whether others had nominated her on behalf of developing nations.
He said it was “premature” to say whether she would at some point decide to pursue the job, though he added that “there seems to be some serious enthusiasm for the idea … At this point, she has not indicated any interest.”
But with its majority of votes and the expected support of European countries, the US is still likely to ensure that another American will succeed 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 Two, while a European has always led the International Monetary Fund. It has yet to publicly identify a nominee to succeed Zoellick.
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 member nations have committed to a merit-based process to select Zoellick’s successor.
Emerging and developing economies have long talked up their desire to break US 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.
Three sources said Ocampo, currently a professor at Columbia University in New York, would be formally nominated by Brazil.
One source said Okonjo-Iweala could be nominated on Wednesday, while two other sources said it would be Friday.