Another name has come up in the list of candidates for the next World Bank head, one that is not from the United States.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has proposed Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus to be the next president of the World Bank. She believes Yunus could spread microcredit as a poverty alleviation tool.
Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, has been well regarded in the fields of microfinance and social business. He pioneered the use of small loans to combat poverty in Bangladesh, which gained him the title, “banker of the poor.” His social business model has been copied in many developing countries.
It is a wonder, however, what made Hasina root for Yunus. Rumor had it that Hasina’s government “engineered” Yunus’ dismissal from the central bank of Bangladesh last year. Yunus’ appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court.
The World Bank is set to select its new president before April 20. The post, by tradition, has always been held by an American.
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