March, 17 2005	Thursday	06 Safar 1426

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WASHINGTON, March 16: The United States has officially nominated Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz as its choice for World Bank president, the World Bank confirmed on Wednesday. President George W. Bush also confirmed the recommendation and US officials said that the Bush administration has already begun notifying other countries that Mr Wolfowitz was the US candidate to replace World Bank President James Wolfensohn.

“The World Bank’s (executive) board has received the nomination from the United States for the presidency of the bank,” a bank spokesman told reporters.

The United States is the World Bank’s biggest shareholder. The bank traditionally has had an American president.

Mr Wolfensohn, who is stepping down as head of the 184-nation development bank on June 1 at the end of his second five-year term, has privately complained that he had wanted to continue but failed to get White House backing. He was appointed by Democrat former president Bill Clinton.

The new nominee, Mr Wolfowitz, earned a reputation as a hawk during his time as Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s deputy, and was a strong advocate of the Iraq war.

President Bush, however, described Mr Wolfowitz as a “compassionate, decent man” who would do a fine job.

It is the second time within weeks that Mr Bush has appointed a hardliner to a key international post.

Earlier in March he nominated Under-Secretary of State John Bolton to be US ambassador to the United Nations — a body Mr Bolton has repeatedly and publicly derided.

Mr Wolfowitz’s nomination must be approved by all of the World Bank’s member countries. In the past, that’s been largely a formality as by tradition the US chooses the head of the World Bank and European officials choose the managing director of the International Monetary Fund.