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Who
Runs the World Bank?
he World Bank is owned by more than 180 member countries whose views and
interests are represented by a Board of Governors and a Washington-based
Board of Directors.
The Governors and Executive
Directors
Member countries are shareholders
who carry ultimate decision-making power in the World Bank. Each member
nation appoints a Governor and an Alternate Governor to carry out these
responsibilities. The Governors, who are usually officials such as Ministers
of Finance or Planning, meet at the Bank's Annual Meetings each fall. They
decide on key Bank policy issues, admit or suspend country members, decide
on changes in the authorized capital stock, determine the distribution
of the IBRD's net income, and endorse financial statements and budgets.
Because these ministers
meet only once a year, the bulk of the Governors' powers are delegated
to the board of Executive Directors. Every member government of the World
Bank Group is represented at the Bank's headquarters in Washington, D.C.
by an Executive Director. The five largest shareholders — France, Germany,
Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — each appoint an Executive
Director, while the other member countries are represented by 19 Executive
Directors who are elected by groups of countries (or constituencies). Some
countries — China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia — have formed single-country
constituencies, while others have joined together in multi-country constituencies.
The 24 Executive Directors normally meet twice a week to oversee the Bank's
business, including approving loans and guarantees, new policies, the administrative
budget, country assistance strategies, and borrowing and financial decisions.
The President
The Bank's President is
by tradition a national of the largest shareholder: the United States.
Elected for a five-year renewable term, the President chairs meetings of
the Executive Directors and is responsible for overall management of the
World Bank. |
