Harvard Grad May Replace Wolfowitz

In the search for Paul D. Wolfowitz’s successor as president of the World Bank, Harvard graduates are taking center stage.

At least four people with Harvard ties—Robert B. Zoellick, R. Glenn Hubbard, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala ’77­, and Baker Professor of Economics Martin S. Feldstein ’61—have garnered media speculation as candidates for the post, and Secretary of the Treasury Henry M. Paulson Jr., a graduate of the Business School, is heading up the search process.

Wolfowitz announced he would resign earlier this month after a protracted scandal surrounding the promotion and compensation for his girlfriend Shaha Riza, formerly a senior communications officer at the bank.

Zoellick, a Law School and Kennedy School graduate, has served in the Bush administration as United States trade representative and later as a deputy secretary of state.

According to Ricardo Hausmann, the director of the Center for International Development at the Kennedy School, Zoellick’s prior experience in the Bush administration could give the candidate an edge in the search.

“The person that has among the Bush insiders...the most credible CV is Zoellick,” Hausmann said.

Hubbard, who earned his masters and Ph.D. in economics at Harvard and is currently dean of the Columbia School of Business, has also been mentioned as a contender for the post.

”If it’s raw politics, [his odds are] probably not very high,” said New York University Economics Department Chair Mark Gertler, a longtime friend and colleague of Hubbard. “If it’s competency, he has a very good chance.”

Gertler added that Hubbard would be able to handle all aspects of the job.

“I think what distinguishes him from the other candidates is that he has a broad set of strengths,” Gertler said. “The other candidates may be good at one thing or the other thing, but Glenn is good at anything.”

Okonjo-Iweala, a graduate of the College, was a vice president of the World Bank and served separately as finance minister and foreign affairs minister of Nigeria.

“Given that she has been the finance minister of a major African country and has been in the bank and knows the institution...in terms of a learning curve she has very little to go through, she can start and hit the ground running,” said Tijan Sallah, a World Bank employee who has worked with Okonjo-Iweala in the past.

But Okonjo-Iweala is not a U.S. citizen, which could hurt her chances as the World Bank’s president has traditionally been an American citizen.

President George W. Bush, who makes the nomination, told Reuters on Monday that he would like to continue that practice.

Feldstein, whose name has not been widely aired by pundits, has been considered for other top economic jobs before.

As a candidate for chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Feldstein told The Crimson two years ago, “I like teaching. I don’t see any reason to stop anytime in the foreseeable future.”

By convention, the president of the United States’ nomination is approved by the bank’s Board of Governors.

Hubbard declined to be interviewed and none of the other candidates mentioned returned requests for comment.

—Staff writer Clifford M. Marks can be reached at cmarks@fas.harvard.edu.