Jim Yong Kim Stepping Down Early as World Bank President at End of Month

(Bloomberg) -- Jim Yong Kim abruptly resigned as president the World Bank more than three years ahead of schedule, potentially sparking an international tussle over who replaces him as the Trump administration questions the development lender’s purpose.

Kristalina Georgieva, the lender’s second in command, will take over as interim president on Feb. 1, the Washington-based bank said Monday in a statement. In an email to employees of the lender, Kim said he’ll join a private firm focused on infrastructure investments in developing countries.

“The opportunity to join the private sector was unexpected, but I’ve concluded that this is the path through which I will be able to make the largest impact on major global issues like climate change and the infrastructure deficit in emerging markets,” Kim said.

Kim, 59, began his second five-year term at the bank on July 1, 2017, after convincing the lender’s board of directors to reappoint him.

The Trump administration has put pressure on the World Bank to justify its lending practices, including loans to China. But in April, the lender won support from its member countries for a $13 billion capital increase, after the U.S. dropped its objections.

Selection Process

The U.S. is the largest shareholder in the development lender, which was conceived during the Second World War to finance the reconstruction of Europe. It has since focused on alleviating extreme poverty around the world.

The head of the World Bank has traditionally been an American, while the managing director of the International Monetary Fund is typically European. The Trump administration would be expected to nominate its preferred candidate to succeed Kim.

But some nations have been pushing for a representative from emerging markets. The selection process is managed by the bank’s board of executive directors, which represents the lender’s 189 member countries.

Kim was appointed in 2012 with the support of President Barack Obama to succeed Robert Zoellick. Kim was previously president of Dartmouth College and head of the HIV/AIDS department at the World Health Organization.

Kim was born in Seoul and grew up in Iowa. He has a medical degree and a PhD in anthropology from Harvard.

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