Bush to name Zoellick as new World Bank chairman

US President George W. Bush was yesterday set to name former diplomat and trade chief Robert Zoellick to head the World Bank after a favoritism scandal that forced Paul Wolfowitz to resign.

By nominating Zoellick, a troubleshooter on tricky issues ranging from global trade to strife in Darfur, Bush is seeking to finally draw a line under the furor that rocked the World Bank for weeks.

The World Bank's 24-member board of governors must approve the nomination. Wolfowitz has agreed to step down on June 30 to end a scandal over a generous pay-and-promotion package he arranged for his girlfriend, a bank employee.

Zoellick's nomination could raise eyebrows among European countries that were disappointed by Bush's nomination in 2005 of Wolfowitz, a former deputy defense secretary and Iraq war architect.

But while Zoellick also backed military action to oust Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, France, which staunchly opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, welcomed Zoellick's nomination.

"Mr Zoellick is certainly the right man for the job," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said yesterday.

WTO chief Pascal Lamy yesterday welcomed Zoellick's likely nomination.

"I've known Bob Zoellick for more than two decades. I've always appreciated his talent as an craftsman of consensus and his ability to extend a hand to developing countries," Lamy said.

When Lamy was still EU trade commissioner and Zoellick US trade representative, the two helped energize WTO free-trade negotiations in 2001 at the launch of the current round of talks.

The European Commission gave no official reaction yesterday morning in Brussels to the likely nomination of Zoellick, who has had a very public falling out with current EU trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson.

Former Canada foreign and international trade minister Pierre Pettigrew also hailed Zoellick as "the man of the moment," describing him as "one of the most internationalist Americans for a long time."

The World Bank's 24-member board of governors must approve the nomination once it is made.