WASHINGTON (AP) — Jim Yong Kim, the president of the World Bank, says he is resigning at the end of January.
Kim’s unexpected departure nearly three years before his term was set to expire, is likely to set off a fierce battle between the Trump administration and other countries who have complained about the influence the United States exerts over the World Bank.
The 189-nation World Bank is the largest government source for development funding, providing low-cost loans for projects around the world.
Kim, who served as World Bank president for more than six years, says he plans to join a firm that will focus on increasing infrastructure investments in developing countries.
The World Bank says he will be succeeded Feb. 1 on an interim basis by Cristalina Georgieva, its chief executive officer.
Comeon member countries - stay strong. Resist Trump Admin. Remember Paul Wolfowitz? Now think who has been close advisors to Trump … Jim Bannon? Seb Gorka? Insane Trade War loving Peter Navarro? Or maybe Jared?
RESIST!
It’s Infrastructure Week! (Sorry, couldn’t resist).
As for Trump, he has zero idea what the World Bank does, which will not stop him from doing everything he can to undermine its work and publicly cast it as some kind of foreign threat to the U.S.
This is a BFD. Presidents of the world bank just don’t resign off schedule absent serious reasons. We’ll likely find out what this reason was in months to years. Possibly a window for share options was closing…
I’ll bet he’s asked whether there’s any chance it will lend him money to buy a golf course.
I have no idea what Kim’s resignation from the World Bank means [ETA-and, like others, am worried it is bad], but this isn’t the first time he abruptly left a high-profile position. Kim resigned the presidency of Dartmouth College after 3 years to take the World Bank job. Since 1970, the typical term of a Dartmouth president has been 11 years.