World Bank President Jim Yong Kim resigns 3 years before term ends

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

published 7 January 2019

World Bank Group president Jim Yong Kim is leaving his post long before his term expires.

On Monday, Kim told World Bank Group employees he'd made the "unexpected" choice to join the private sector. His resignation will take effect Feb. 1, with World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva taking over as interim president, per the Financial Times.

Kim has headed the international lender for developing countries since former President Barack Obama appointed him in 2012. He was reappointed by the bank's board for a second five-year term in 2017. Since President Trump's election, the lender has faced pressure "to justify its lending practices, including loans to China," Bloomberg says. It secured a $13 billion increase in lending capital last April after the U.S. dropped its opposition to the move.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox