Top US administration officials denied a report that US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had been in discussions with the White House about heading the World Bank.
“The story is completely untrue,” Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines said in the United Arab Emirates, where Clinton was involved in international talks on Libya.
He said Clinton had not had any conversations with US President Barack Obama, the White House “or anyone else about moving to the World Bank.”
“She has expressed absolutely no interest in the job. She would not take it if offered,” Reines said.
White House spokesman Jay Carney also chipped in, saying: “The story is completely untrue.”
US officials were referring to a report from Reuters that said Clinton was in discussions with the White House to leave her job next year and take over as head of the World Bank, replacing Robert Zoellick should he leave at the end of his term in the middle of next year.
A source close to the global lender had earlier this week also indicated that the US was studying her possible candidacy at the World Bank, where an American has traditionally held the top job.
“It’s a strong, serious hypothesis which they are working on,” said the source, who was familiar with the matter, but asked not to be named.
The World Bank declined to comment on Thursday.
However, at a news conference on Wednesday in Oslo, Zoellick was asked whether it’s right that an American should lead the institution.
“I think this really is a decision for shareholders, and I think there are many talented non-Americans and Americans,” he said.
“I think it’s good for the US to also have some responsibility, to have some of its nationals be engaged in multinational institutions,” he added.
Clinton has said she doesn’t want to stay in her job if Obama wins a second term next year.
She has also said she neither has plans for a second White House bid nor interest in other posts, such as vice president or defense secretary.
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