The newly appointed President of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, has said he will uphold the organisation's 'noble mission' of eliminating poverty.
The board of the World Bank unanimously approved his nomination yesterday.
The 61-year-old takes over from James Wolfensohn on 1 June.
He said debt relief for the world’s poorest nations was his most pressing issue, along with a summit of the UN on Millennium Development Goals in September.
Mr Wolfowitz, who is outgoing US Deputy Defence Secretary, was nominated by President George W Bush several weeks ago.
There was surprise and disquiet in some European countries over the nomination because of Mr Wolfowitz’s key role in promoting the case for war in Iraq.
However, Mr Wolfowitz said he was ready to work with those people who might have had doubts about his appointment.
