Wolfowitz approved

The World Bank yesterday unanimously confirmed Paul Wolfowitz as its president despite quiet misgivings by some members over the deputy defence secretary's role as the Bush administration's architect of the Iraq war.

The outcome had already largely been decided in the capitals of the bank's major shareholder governments when the 24-member board met in a vote that was conducted by consensus.

Mr Wolfowitz will have a few months of transition before he takes the reins of the bank on June 1, when James Wolfensohn steps down after 10 years at the helm of an organization that spends billions of dollars a year in projects aimed at reducing poverty in the world's least developed countries.

"It is humbling to be entrusted with the leadership of this critically important international institution," Mr Wolfowitz said in a statement.

He said the next six months would be important for international development policy decisions, before a UN summit in September to measure progress on meeting global targets to reduce poverty.