World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim wins second term

The World Bank's executive board said on Wednesday that nominations to head the multilateral lender had closed, virtually guaranteeing Kim a second five-year term as president.

Members of the board will meet with Kim, 56, in accordance with the already-agreed-upon selection procedures, despite the fact no other candidates were nominated for the position. The process is expected to be completed by the October 3-9 annual meeting between the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The South Korean-American former physician and activist was made president of the organization in 2012, and has enjoyed the support of Washington despite criticism from many within the organization itself.

Prior to being nominated five years ago, Kim was president of Dartmouth College. The US announced his selection as a nominee for a second term in August.

Calls for new blood

Around the same time, the Financial Times newspaper reported that many within the World Bank were pushing for fresh blood to take the top position. Since the organization's creation in 1944, the presidency has always been awarded to an American.

"The world has changed, and we must change with it. Unless we revisit the rules-of-the-game, the World Bank Group faces the real possibility of becoming an anachronism on the international stage," the organization's staff association said in an internal letter.

The staff association was especially keep on a non-American taking the reins. Kim has also been the target of criticism over his handling of an organizational restructuring, among other decisions.

When he ran in 2012, Kim was the first American to face competition for the top post, when Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala also ran for the position.

blc/kl (Reuters, AFP)