President of the World Bank Group


The President of the World Bank Group is the head of World Bank Group. The president is responsible for chairing the meetings of the Boards of Directors and for overall management of the World Bank Group. Traditionally, the World Bank Group President has always been an American citizen nominated by the United States, the largest shareholder in the World Bank Group. The nominee is subject to confirmation by the Board of Executive Directors, to serve for a five-year, renewable term. While most World Bank Group presidents have had banking experience, some have not.

List of World Bank Group Presidents

; Status
#PortraitNameDatesNationalityBackgroundNotes
1Eugene Meyer1946Newspaper publisherFirst World Bank Group President
2John J. McCloy1947–1949Lawyer and US Assistant Secretary of WarFirst World Bank Group President with military background
3Eugene R. Black, Sr.1949–1963United StatesBank executive with Chase Manhattan Bank and executive director with the World Bank
4George Woods1963–1968United StatesBank executive with First Boston Corporation
5Robert McNamara1968–1981United StatesUS Secretary of Defense, business executive with Ford Motor Company
6Alden W. Clausen1981–1986United StatesLawyer, bank executive with Bank of America
7Barber Conable1986–1991United StatesNew York State Senator and US Congressman
8Lewis T. Preston1991–1995United StatesBank executive with J.P. Morgan & Co.
9Sir James Wolfensohn1995–2005Australia
United States		Corporate lawyer and bankerFirst World Bank Group President born outside United States.
First World Bank Group President from Australia
10Paul Wolfowitz2005–2007United StatesVarious cabinet and government positions; US Ambassador to Indonesia, US Deputy Secretary of Defense
11Robert Zoellick2007–2012United StatesBank executive with Goldman Sachs, Deputy Secretary of State and US Trade Representative
12Jim Yong Kim2012–2019South Korea
United States		Korean-American physician and anthropologist, co-founder of Partners in Health and 17th President of Dartmouth College.First World Bank Group President born in Asia.
First World Bank Group President from South Korea.
Kristalina Georgieva
Acting		2019BulgariaChief Executive of the World Bank.
European Commissioner for the Budget and Human Resources during Juncker Commission.
European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development during Barroso Commission.
European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management during Barroso Commission.		First woman serving as the World Bank Group President
First acting World Bank Group President.
First World Bank Group President born in Europe.
First World Bank Group President from European Union and from Bulgaria.
13David Malpass2019–presentUnited StatesUnder Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, chief economist at Bear Stearns