The World's Banker
(Sebastian Mallaby)
The World?s BankerAuthor: Sebastian MallabyAbstract: Canberra Times ReviewJames Wolfensohn, Olympic fencer, concert-class musician, successful Wall Street executive, had an overwhelming desire to be President of the World Bank. A mere whisper that President Jimmy Carter may have his name on a short list in 1980 led him to renounce his Australian citizenship and become an American in the hope it would make him a more presentable candidate.Carter was unimpressed, and the presidency went elsewhere; 15 years later Bill Clinton looked on him more favourably and Wolfensohn achieved his dream.At first it looked more like a nightmare. The Bank had celebrated its 50th anniversary with angry anti-globalisation mobs chanting ?50 years is enough? at its Madrid meeting. Over five decades it had evolved into a Byzantine structure, populated by warring cliques, overseen by a fractious board and subject to a continuous stream of criticism and abuse by numerous special interest groups. Wolfensohn wanted to lead a great crusade against poverty. Instead he spent much of the next decade on fireman?s duty, dealing with one emergency after another. Even so he lost none of his enthusiasm and only occasionally some of his natural charm. Towards the end of his second five-year term he really felt he was getting the hang of the job at last and was actually angling for a third term ? the Bush Administration were not interested.While he failed to make fundamental reforms ? even his closest associates admit he is a bad manager ? he did have some successes, notably in funding measures to deal with the AIDS crisis. Perhaps the very fact the Bank survives into its 60th Year and beyond is the greatest testimony to his stewardship.
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