THE US president, George Bush, has chosen Robert Zoellick, a former US trade representative and State Department deputy chief, to lead the World Bank, it was reported last night.
Mr Bush plans to formally announce his selection today and expects the bank's board to accept it, claimed a senior administration official.
Mr Bush had said he wanted an American to succeed Paul Wolfowitz, despite increasing calls from World Bank
member countries and some US lawmakers to throw the process open to a global pool of candidates.
The controversy over Mr Wolfowitz's authorisation of a pay raise for his companion, Middle East expert Shaha Riza, deepened rifts among bank staff already discontented over his anti-corruption agenda and prompted sharp criticism from shareholder countries.
Mr Wolfowitz also was unpopular because of his role as a key architect of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq while serving in Mr Bush's Defence Department.
The treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, received "positive reactions" from other countries to the choice of Mr Zoellick, the administration official told reporters.
Mr Zoellick left his job as deputy secretary of state last year to join Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs & Co.
He had been tipped as a candidate last year to become Treasury Secretary, but that job went to then-Goldman Sachs chief executive Paulson instead.
As Mr Bush's first trade representative, Mr Zoellick helped launch the Doha round of world trade talks and completed negotiations to bring China and Taiwan into the World Trade Organisation. He continued a major focus on China as secretary of state Condoleezza Rice's top deputy.
