We established this site to open up the process for selecting a new person to run the world’s most powerful development institution. We covered the post-Wolfensohn selection process from beginning to end, and we’ve refreshed this site’s look and functionality to enhance our ability to track, comment on and – hopefully – influence who comes after Wolfowitz and what they say and do. Continue reading →

So it looks like Robert Zoellick is the U.S. pick for the Bank job. There may be nominations from other governments, but now it’s time to rake over the coals and see what Zoellick has done in the past and what he would do if installed at the top of the World Bank.

As a visual break from reading serious insights into Zoellick I recommend you check out this fantastic photo of Robert Zoellick hugging a panda bear in China while on duty as Deputy Secretary of State. Continue reading →

Should Robert Zoellick indeed become president of the World Bank, he will be reunited with his old friend Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, in the elite club at the top of the global economic system. When Zoellick was U.S. Trade Representative, Lamy was his counterpart for the European Union. Continue reading →

Press reports are circulating that President Bush – surprise, surprise, will pick; Robert Zoellick, another middle aged white man to head the World Bank. But does he have what it takes?. Meanwhile, and probably in responses to the press reports about Zoellick, the World Bank Board of executive directors has issued a statement. Continue reading →

As many of us suspected, European countries agreed not to challenge the U.S. “divine right of appointing” as part of the bargain that saw Wolfowitz resign, according to Canada’s Globe and Mail. This line in the article on Zoellick caught my attention: Continue reading →

Bush will make the announcement tomorrow according to an Associated Press release, published by ABC news.“President Bush has chosen Robert Zoellick, a one-time U.S. trade representative and former No. 2 official at the State Department, to lead the World Bank, a senior administration official said Tuesday.” Continue reading →

Aahh! One neocon replaces another. The end is nigh!!! Bloomberg has the scoop. In case anyone’s forgotten, Zoellick is another Project for the New American Century, Iraq war hawk, who had a reputation of being the opposite of a diplomat (whatever that is) when he was the head of USTR….

Bloomberg is reporting that “The German government has told the Bush administration that it would support the nomination of former U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick to head the World Bank, a German government official said.” Continue reading →

[Apologies in advance for the shameless self promotion.] The Scripps Howard News Service has picked up an op-ed I wrote with editorial help from the good folks at Foreign Policy In Focus. Continue reading →

This UPI article quotes Whitehouse spokesperson Tony Snow as indicating that “the President is close to choosing Wolfowitz’s replacement”, as soon as later this week. Combined with other recent posts, it seems reasonible to conclude that Zoellick will be put forward as the one and only candidate.