President Barack Obama’s decision to pick Dartmouth President Jim Yong Kim took many by surprise, considering that Kim isn’t a regular in Washington circles.
“Dr. Kim’s name was closely held and not among those widely bandied about since Mr. Zoellick announced his plans to move on,” the New York Times wrote in its story on nomination.
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”At this moment, across Washington, hundreds of surprised reporters and gov’t aides are Googling ‘Jim Yong Kim’ to find out who he is,” joked Washingtonian magazine editor Garrett Graff on Twitter.
Kim’s been president at Dartmouth since 2009 and is a former director at the World Health Organization and the co-founder of Partners in Health, which provides health services to the poor. But career accomplishments aside, what about his lighter side? In a “Greenroom” online-only video interview he did during an appearance on “The Charlie Rose Show” in March, Kim opened up about less weighty matters.
Kim did not speak at the announcement. But in a letter to Dartmouth alumni and others, he called the bank “one of the most critical institutions fighting poverty and providing assistance to developing countries in the world today,” and said that he would accept Obama’s nomination.
He was a surprising choice. The focus at first was on nominating a major political figure such as Clinton and former Treasury secretary Lawrence H. Summers.
But Kim drew quick support, and one other candidate for the job, Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs, withdrew from contention in praise of Obama’s choice.
Kim “is a superb nominee,” Sachs said, a “world-class development leader.” Sachs had campaigned openly for the job, arguing that the bank’s next leader should be a development expert rather than someone who had spent a career in finance.
Still, Kim may be the first American World Bank nominee to face competition. Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been nominated by a member of the bank’s executive board. Under the bank’s procedures, if three or fewer people are nominated, each will be interviewed. A decision on the new president is expected before upcoming bank meetings in mid-April.
Kim, Dartmouth’s leader since July 2009, is a physician by training and an anthropologist. His background is in global health, and he has worked extensively on health issues in the developing world.
“Dr. Kim’s name was closely held and not among those widely bandied about since Mr. Zoellick announced his plans to move on,” the New York Times wrote in its story on nomination.
Continue Reading
”At this moment, across Washington, hundreds of surprised reporters and gov’t aides are Googling ‘Jim Yong Kim’ to find out who he is,” joked Washingtonian magazine editor Garrett Graff on Twitter.
Kim’s been president at Dartmouth since 2009 and is a former director at the World Health Organization and the co-founder of Partners in Health, which provides health services to the poor. But career accomplishments aside, what about his lighter side? In a “Greenroom” online-only video interview he did during an appearance on “The Charlie Rose Show” in March, Kim opened up about less weighty matters.
Kim did not speak at the announcement. But in a letter to Dartmouth alumni and others, he called the bank “one of the most critical institutions fighting poverty and providing assistance to developing countries in the world today,” and said that he would accept Obama’s nomination.
He was a surprising choice. The focus at first was on nominating a major political figure such as Clinton and former Treasury secretary Lawrence H. Summers.
But Kim drew quick support, and one other candidate for the job, Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs, withdrew from contention in praise of Obama’s choice.
Kim “is a superb nominee,” Sachs said, a “world-class development leader.” Sachs had campaigned openly for the job, arguing that the bank’s next leader should be a development expert rather than someone who had spent a career in finance.
Still, Kim may be the first American World Bank nominee to face competition. Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been nominated by a member of the bank’s executive board. Under the bank’s procedures, if three or fewer people are nominated, each will be interviewed. A decision on the new president is expected before upcoming bank meetings in mid-April.
Kim, Dartmouth’s leader since July 2009, is a physician by training and an anthropologist. His background is in global health, and he has worked extensively on health issues in the developing world.
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