World Bank President David Malpass has announced that he will step down by the end of June, about a year before his term expires.
The World Bank is an institution created at the end of the Second World War together with the International Monetary Fund, and traditionally the appointment of the president of the former belongs to the United States, while that of the director of the latter to the European governments. Initially the World Bank had the initial purpose of helping the reconstruction of the countries most affected by the war, but over the years its purpose has changed and evolved. At the moment it is to study the processes that lead nations to economic development and to offer capital, assistance and advice to the poorest countries.
Malpass had been put in charge of the institution in 2019 by then US President Donald Trump, and in the last months of 2022 he had been harshly criticized by environmental activists and Democratic politicians – including former US Vice President Al Gore – because, during a public event organized by New York Times, had declined to say whether or not he recognized the prevailing scientific consensus that the use of fossil fuels is the cause of global warming. Since then his resignation had been repeatedly requested.