Wolfowitz cleaning out Wolfensohn's team

50 Years Listserv
Oct 7, 2005

This memo from WB President Paul Wolfowitz, now circulating inside the World Bank, suggests that now that his first annual meetings are concluded, complete with several positive profiles in the mainstream media, Wolfowitz is now taking concrete steps to rid himself of his predecessor's team so he can install his own people.

Shengman Zhang was Wolfensohn's #2, and was the face of WB management for many staff. His position is a very powerful one. The choice of his replacement will be a key indication of the direction Wolfowitz wants to take the Bank. The choice will be politically interesting just on the level of nationality. Shengman was the first truly prominent Chinese official at the WB, and China would no doubt like to hold onto the post. I believe he was also the first #2 to come from a borrowing country. It should be recalled that part of the deal made to secure European support for Wolfowitz in March was the promise of a high-level Bank position for a European. That would suggest that the position would change hands from South to North, tho the suggestion had also been made that an entirely new position might be created to make good on that promise.

Soren Ambrose - 50 Years Is Enough Network / Solidarity Africa Network in Action

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Shengman Zhang has informed me of his decision to leave the World Bank to pursue other interests. Shengman has made a major contribution to the institution, particularly in his role as Managing Director for the Bank's operations over the past seven years. He has guided significant improvements in the quality of the Bank's work, both lending and policy advice, and in the effectiveness of the services we deliver to our partner countries. On behalf of his many colleagues and friends, I would like to express our profound appreciation to him for all that he has done for the Bank and for development.

Since he was appointed Managing Director in 1997, Shengman has undertaken an increasing number of responsibilities, including oversight of the Bank's operations worldwide ? covering all geographical Regions and the six sectoral Networks as well as related operational policy units. During the past four years, he has chaired the key operational and institutional committees of the Bank, and directly oversaw the Bank's quality assurance function. He guided the work on global monitoring that has led to several flagship reports on the Millennium Development Goals; championed the effort to scale up the Bank's work in infrastructure through the Infrastructure Action Plan; and oversaw the review of the Bank's work in the Middle-Income Countries--which called for the Bank to maintain a strong and effective role in those countries--as well as the low-income countries under stress (LICUS), which set out the Bank's approach of enhanced support to those countries facing particularly difficult challenges. In addition, Shengman has played a pivotal role in helping to strengthen the Bank's policies and practices governing Human Resources, Information Technology, Knowledge and Learning, and Administrative Services--all areas where he has held responsibility as Managing Director. He has been a key member of the senior management team over the last decade, helping to shape the Bank's strategic framework and to sharpen its focus on implementation and results. He also played an important role in the pursuit of the Bank's anti-corruption agenda as Chairman of the Bank's Sanctions Committee.

On a personal note, I am grateful for the strong legacy Jim Wolfensohn has left me and I

know that has been the result of a ten-year team effort. For seven of those years, Shengman has been a key player on that team. I am very grateful to him for that and for the support he has given me in my first months in this challenging job. I speak for all of us in thanking Shengman for his great service to the Bank group and his tremendous dedication to the cause of development. We all wish him every success in his future endeavors.

Paul Wolfowitz

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