Hans Nichols does an exceptional job of covering the Washington beat for Bloomberg.
Bloomberg
Obama Considering Summers for World Bank
By Hans Nichols
Jan 18, 2012 11:47 AM ET
President Barack Obama is considering nominating Lawrence Summers, his former National Economic Council director, to lead the World Bank when Robert Zoellick’s term expires later this year, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Summers has expressed interest in the job to White House officials and has backers inside the administration, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and the current NEC Director, Gene Sperling, said one of the people. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also being considered, along with other candidates, said the other person. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House deliberations.
Lael Brainard, the under secretary of Treasury for international affairs, is compiling a list of potential candidates to replace Zoellick, who was nominated to a five-year term that began in July of 2007 by then-President George W. Bush. By tradition, the U.S. president chooses the leader of the World Bank while the head of the International Monetary Fund is selected by European leaders. The nomination is subject to approval by the World Bank’s executive board.
You may recall the unfortunate tenure of arch-neocon and Iraq war architect Paul Wolfowitz at the World Bank.
"O, wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is!
O brave new world, That has such people in it!"
William Shakespeare, Tempest, Act 5, Sc. 1
