The Final State of the Union
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Summary:
President Obama tapped Dr. Jim Yong Kim, a global health and development expert.
President Barack Obama announces Dr. Jim Yong Kim, second from left, as his nominee to head the World Bank, during a statement in the Rose Garden of the White House, March 23, 2012. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner also attended the announcement. (Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert) (Official White House Photo)
This morning, President Obama named Dr. Jim Yong Kim, a global health and development expert, as his choice to head the World Bank. Dr. Kim is the president of Dartmouth College and a co-founder of Partners In Health.
In announcing his decision, President Obama talked about the World Bank's capacity for improving the lives of real people all over the world:
[Despite] its name, the World Bank is more than just a bank. It’s one of the most powerful tools we have to reduce poverty and raise standards of living in some of the poorest countries on the planet. And in a world that is growing smaller and more connected every day, that’s a critical mission -– not just for those who are struggling, but for all of us.
Dr. Kim has worked as both an anthropologist and a physician in communities from Asia to Africa to the Americas. He's the former head of a World Health Organization team that worked to treat 3 million patients with HIV/AIDS.
The bank will select its new president before its spring meeting in April.
Watch President Obama announce the nomination in the Rose Garden:
