Robert B Zoellick will succeed Paul Wolfowitz as the 11th president of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or the World Bank, for a five-year term from July 1, 2007.

He is US President George W Bush's choice and said to be a very close Bush aide.

Wolfowitz played a controversial role right from the beginning because of his role in the Iraq war, when he was deputy defence secretary. It was his role in arranging a hefty pay raise for Shaha Ali Reza, his girlfriend and bank employee, prompted a staff revolt and hastened his departure.

Critical of India

Robert Zoellick, 53, was for long critical of India's stand on trade issues at the World Trade Organisation. During his visit to India in 2003, he had made a veiled threat that New Delhi would be left behind if it did not fall into line and stopped opposing the Doha ministerial conference trade round. He had also gone so far as to suggest that India might get US support on delicate issues concerning counter-terrorism and nuclear non-proliferation, but only if it relaxed its stance on the trade issues.

India has, of course, stuck to its guns notwithstanding the hidden threat of boycott that Zoellick hinted at. But since then Zoellick had moved on to other assignments. Now with him in the saddle at the World Bank, it will be interesting to see what his view is of India and its economic policies.

Distinguished career

Zoellick, an American, is a technocrat and currently the vice chairman (international) of Goldman Sachs Group, and a managing director and chairman of Goldman Sach's board of international advisors.

He has served in a number of senior positions in successive US administrations. In 2005-06, Zoellick served as Deputy Secretary of the US State Department. He was the chief operating officer of the department, which has 57,000 employees and embassies in 165 countries.

He was involved with the efforts to overcome the tragedies in Sudan. He worked with multilateral, national, and private aid and humanitarian organisations on the reconstruction and development of the new government of southern Sudan, created through the Comprehensive Peace Accord of 2005.

USTR days

From 2001 to January 2005, Zoellick served in the President's cabinet as US Trade Representative.  He forged an activist approach to free trade at the global, regional, and bilateral levels, while securing support for open markets with the US. Congress and a broad coalition of domestic constituencies. In 2001, he played a significant role in getting Asian giant China to join the World Trade Organisation.

He also devised the plans to launch a Middle East Free Trade Area, the Enterprise for ASEAN Initiative, etc to foster trade and development.

He also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Policy, US Department of Treasury, and Undersecretary for Economic and Agricultural Affairs and Counselor in the US State Department.

He was executive vice president of Fannie Mae (1993-1997), one of the largest US mortgage finance corporation, as well as vice president and assistant to the chairman and CEO.

He grew up in Naperville, Illinois. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Swarthmore College in 1975. He earned a JD magna cum laude from the Harvard Law School and a MPP (focusing on public management and international issues, especially economics) from the Kennedy School of Government in 1981. He lived in Hong Kong on a fellowship in 1980. He has also received numerous distinguished service awards.

The president of the bank is also ex-officio president of the International Development Association and chairman of the board of directors of the International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, and the Administrative Council of the International Centre of Investment Disputes.

Robert Zoellick, US President George W. Bush's choice to head the World Bank in replace of Paul Wolfowitz.

Photograph: Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images