Obama Elects Jim Yong Kim as World Bank President

“The prospect of the World Bank being led by someone from outside the U.S. for the first time seemed nearer on Friday, as several African nations backed Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the job.

Per-Anders Pettersson | Getty Images World Bank building in Washington, DC.

“The endorsement is in line with the belief that the appointment of the leadership of the World Bank and its sister institution, theInternational Monetary Fund , should be merit-based, open and transparent,” the leaders of South Africa, Nigeria and Angola said in a statement.

If Okonjo-Iweala defies expectations and gets the job, she will be the first African to lead the organization, as well as the first woman.

The process of deciding who will be the next World Bank president will be — like the election of the next Pope — difficult to follow unless you’re one of the privileged few in the room.

In every previous election, the U.S. president’s nominee has been a shoo-in, but this time around the emerging economies are mounting a determined challenge. Given that the Bank’s remit is to lend to developing economies, an appointment from the emerging markets might make sense. However, the U.S., as the largest contributor to the Bank, controls 16.41 percent of the votes, and the winning candidate needs 85 percent.

Nominations for the presidency close on Friday, with growing rumblings that this may be the first time a woman, or someone from outside the U.S., leads the fund….”

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