World Bank

THE WORLD BANK (or the Bank) was established on December 27, 1945, following the ratification of the Bretton Woods agreement. The World Bank was conceived of in July 1944 at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference to provide development assistance to facilitate the reconstruction of Europe following World War II. Since then, the Bank has provided financial assistance to developing countries following natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies to facilitate postconflict rehabilitation and economic liberalization and development.

The organization of the World Bank consists of two agencies of the five that make up the World Bank Group (WBG): the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). The Bank consists of 185 member countries, all of whom are shareholders, represented by a board of governors—the ultimate policymakers of the Bank. The board of governors consists of member countries' ministers of finance or development, and it meets annually. The governors delegate specific duties to 24 on-site executive directors.

The five largest shareholders—France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States-each appoint one executive director, and the remaining member countries are represented by 19 other executive directors, thus making up the 24. The president of the Bank, currently Robert B. Zoellick, is responsible for chairing the meetings of the board of directors and for overall management of the Bank. The president of the Bank serves a renewable five-year term. The president is, by tradition, a U.S. citizen nominated by the president of the United States—the bank's largest shareholder. The presidential nominee is confirmed by the board of governors.

The World Bank's activities are focused on the reduction of global poverty, especially on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), goals calling for the elimination of poverty and the implementation of sustainable development. The constituent parts of the Bank, the IBRD and the IDA, achieve their aims through the provision of low- or no-interest loans and grants to countries with little or no access to international credit markets. The Bank is a market-based, nonprofit organization, [Page 1099]using its high credit rating to make up for the low interest rate of loans.