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David Malpass will leave office on June 30, at least a year before the end of his five-year term since it began in April 2019, when then-US President Donald Trump nominated him. Before taking office, Malpass had repeatedly criticized the World Bank and was rebuked twice by Washington for denying climate change.
He lacked less than a year to finish his term, but even so he announced his retirement without giving many explanations. Now President Joe Biden will be able to nominate a successor.
“With developing countries facing unprecedented crises, I am proud that the Bank Group has responded with speed, scale, innovation and impact,” Malpass said in a statement. “The past four years have been some of the most significant of my race,” he added.
This afternoon, I met with the @WorldBank Group’s Board of Directors and informed them of my intention to step down by the end of our June 30 fiscal year.
It has been an honor & privilege to serve as World Bank President. I have written more on @LinkedIn: https://t.co/ZGtTjh4BpL
—David Malpass (@DavidMalpassWBG) February 15, 2023
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen thanked Malpass for his service, saying in a statement that “the world has benefited from his strong support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion, his vital work to help the people Afghanistan and its commitment to help low-income countries reduce their debt burden.
However, before taking office, Malpass was a repeated critic of the World Bank. He said that the entity had focused too much on its own expansion and not enough on its main mission of fighting poverty.
The purpose of the World Bank is to reduce poverty through low interest loans and financial support to developing countries. Faced with this, the outgoing president of the entity once said, before his mandate, that “the only ones who benefit from World Bank credits are those who fly first class.”
In 2022, Malpass was criticized for his comments at a conference. In his speech he implied that burning fossil fuels does not cause global warming, claims he later followed up with more statements that earned him the reputation of a ‘climate change denier’.
With AP and Reuters
