World Bank appoints new president

The Executive Directors of the World Bank, on Friday unanimously appointed David Malpass as President of the World Bank Group for a five-year term, beginning on Tuesday, April 9.

The World Bank in a press release published on its website, said the appointment followed a transparent nomination process where any national of the Bank’s membership could be proposed by any Executive Director or Governor, NAN reports.

“The Board looks forward to working with Malpass on the implementation of the Forward Look and the Capital Package Agreement as articulated in the Sustainable Financing for Sustainable Development Paper,” the bank said.

The World Bank President is Chair of the Boards of Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA).

The President is also ex-officio Chair of the Boards of Directors of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the Administrative Council of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

Malpass previously served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs for the U.S.
As Under Secretary, Malpass represented the United States in international settings, including the G-7 and G-20 Deputy Finance Ministerial, World Bank-IMF Spring and Annual Meetings of the World Bank.

He also played a role in several major World Bank Group reforms and initiatives.

He was also instrumental in advancing the Debt Transparency Initiative, adopted by the World Bank and IMF, to increase public disclosure of debt and thereby reducing the frequency and severity of debt crises.

Prior to becoming Under Secretary, Malpass was an international economist and founder of a macroeconomics research firm based in New York City.

Earlier in his career, Malpass served as the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Developing Nations and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Economic Affairs.

In these roles, he focused on an array of economic, budget, and foreign policy issues, such as the U.S involvement in multilateral institutions, including the World Bank.

Malpass had served on the boards of the Council of the Americas, Economic Club of New York, and the National Committee on U.S–China Relations.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from Colorado College and his MBA from the University of Denver.

He undertook advanced graduate work in international economics at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.