[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 39 (Monday, October 4, 1999)]
[Page 1845]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on James D. Wolfensohn's Decision To Serve a Second Term as 
President of the World Bank

September 28, 1999

    I am very pleased that Jim Wolfensohn will serve a second term as 
World Bank president. During a precarious period for the world economy, 
Jim has shown a true passion for helping people who live in the poorest 
countries of the world weather the financial crisis and making sure they 
have a voice in decisions that affect them.
    Jim's hands-on style has served the World Bank well. He has traveled 
to more than 100 countries to see for himself what is working and what 
needs to be done to create jobs, improve education, fight hunger, and 
attack diseases like AIDS. And he has shown an abiding commitment to 
reinventing the World Bank--to make sure that it is equipped to meet the 
challenges of globalization. In addition to improving governance and 
broadening participation, he has been working hard to improve 
transparency and clamp down on corruption.
    His leadership, imagination, and deep moral commitment make him an 
outstanding choice for the World Bank as it enters the next century.