[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 18, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           REFLECTIONS ON THE WORLD BANK PRESIDENTIAL CONTEST

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 18, 2012

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, on Monday the World Bank formally 
selected Dr. Jim Yong Kim, president of Dartmouth College, and an 
expert in public health, as its next president. Dr. Kim's selection 
continues a long-standing practice of having an American lead the 
institution; which is appropriate as the United States is the single 
largest financial contributor to the bank. Typically, the selection of 
a new World Bank president draws little notice but this year, in the 
most open and transparent selection process in the bank's 68 year 
history, the Board of Directors had three well-qualified candidates to 
choose from.
  Although the United States supported Dr. Kim, and I agree with his 
selection, it should be noted that the other two candidates, former 
Colombian finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo and Nigeria's current 
finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, were equally qualified for the 
position. Mr. Ocampo has a strong record of public service with both 
the United Nations and the Government of Colombia, most notably serving 
as the United Nations' Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social 
Affairs; Executive Secretary for the Economic Commission for Latin 
America and the Caribbean; and in Colombia as Minister of Finance and 
Public Credit and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. 
Likewise, Ms. Okonjo-Iweala is a globally renowned Nigerian economist 
best known for her two terms as Finance Minister of Nigeria (her 
current position) and for her work at the World Bank, including several 
years as one of its Managing Directors. The Board of Directors was 
clearly blessed to have three outstanding candidates to choose from.
  I commend Mr. Ocampo and Ms. Okonjo-Iweala for driving a spirited and 
appropriate debate about the future direction of the World Bank. It is 
always good to obtain new perspectives and to explore new ideas. 
Indeed, in accepting his new position yesterday, Dr. Kim recognized the 
growing influence of our colleagues in the world's emerging economies--
as represented by Mr. Ocampo and Ms. Okonjo-Iweala--and pledged to 
``seek a new alignment of the World Bank Group with a rapidly changing 
world.'' And he also committed himself to fostering a bank that, among 
other things, ``amplifies the voices of developing countries and draws 
on the expertise and experience of the people we serve.''
  I hope that Mr. Ocampo and Ms. Okonjo-Iweala will take up Dr. Kim's 
call to work with him to reshape the World Bank into a more potent tool 
for helping to resolve some of the world's most intractable problems. 
And I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing all three outstanding 
World Bank president candidates for their dedication to service.

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