Clausen Will Not Seek a 2nd Term at World Bank

A. W. Clausen, president of the World Bank, announced Tuesday that he would not seek a second five-year term when his current term expires in June, 1986.

The announcement ended weeks of speculation over Clausen’s continued tenure at the bank following a report that the Reagan Administration was seeking to replace him. (As the World Bank’s largest contributor, the United States selects the bank’s president.)

Clausen, a former Bank of America president, reportedly informed World Bank governors of his decision before delivering a speech before the bank and the International Monetary Fund at their annual meeting in Seoul, South Korea.

“When I made my first address (to the annual meeting in 1981), it was my intention to serve a single five-year term,” Clausen said in his address, “and today I want to reaffirm that intention.”

The World Bank has come under increasing criticism for not taking a more active role in resolving the global monetary crisis. Increased participation by the World Bank in tackling the debt crisis is a focus of U.S. proposals in Seoul.