Wolfowitz Confirmed as Head of World Bank

The board of the World Bank voted unanimously Thursday to approve the appointment of Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz as the bank’s next president, installing one of President Bush’s closest lieutenants to run the influential anti-poverty agency.

The nomination of Wolfowitz, a chief architect of the Iraq war, brought dismayed reactions in Europe and elsewhere when it was announced two weeks ago. Since then, however, opposition has receded.

After the vote, announced at a board of directors meeting, Wolfowitz issued a statement emphasizing his intention to collaborate with others in the bank’s work of funding development projects in poor countries.

“I look forward to deepening my understanding of the challenges facing the bank through exchanging views with two key groups: the civil society organizations whose advice has become increasingly important in bank deliberations; and the extraordinary professional staff of the bank.”

Wolfowitz also thanked the 24-member board. “It is humbling to be entrusted with the leadership of this critically important international institution,” he said.

Since his nomination, Wolfowitz has sought to reassure foreign leaders and anti-poverty activists that he does not intend to impose the Bush administration’s wishes on the institution, which distributes about $20 billion a year. Nevertheless, it is widely expected that he will try to reshape the bank to make it more efficient, and push aid recipients toward adopting U.S. recommendations for governing their countries.

The World Bank, with 10,000 employees in 109 countries, provides loans and grants for a variety of purposes. Its original mission was to build large infrastructure projects, such as ports, roads and airports. But it has gradually branched into other areas, such as education and social services.

Wolfowitz’s appointment has drawn comparison with that of former Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara, who took over the World Bank in 1968 after overseeing the Vietnam War under President Johnson.

Wolfowitz, 61, is to assume the post June 1 from James D. Wolfensohn, an Australian-born former investment banker who was appointed president of the bank in 1995 and 2000 by former President Clinton. Wolfowitz has praised Wolfensohn’s emphasis on fighting corruption.

Bush’s nomination of Wolfowitz came 10 days after the president nominated controversial conservative John R. Bolton to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. The selections were seen as part of a pattern of sending close aides to important multinational institutions that the president believes are in need of reform.

Though Wolfowitz’s nomination drew criticism, it also won acceptance from moderate figures in Washington’s foreign policy establishment. Among them were Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Dennis Ross, who was chief Mideast peace negotiator for both President George H.W. Bush and Clinton.

The final boost for Wolfowitz came Wednesday when European Union ministers, after meeting with him in Brussels, declared that they backed his candidacy.

Wolfowitz has held a variety of jobs in the Pentagon and State Department, including the post of ambassador to Indonesia, where he is said to have showed an interest in development. He is known as a leading neoconservative, advocating that U.S. influence be used to effect institutional changes in other nations.

“I understand I am, putting it mildly, a controversial figure,” Wolfowitz told reporters. “But I hope that as people get to know me better they will understand that I really do believe in the mission of the bank.”