Board of World Bank approves new president

WASHINGTON — Robert Zoellick, a seasoned player in international financial and diplomatic circles, won the unanimous approval of the World Bank's board on Monday to become the poverty-fighting institution's next president.

Zoellick will succeed Paul Wolfowitz, whose last day is Saturday, ending a stormy two-year tenure. The new president will take the reins Sunday, the first day of his five-year term.

"I am ready to get to work," Zoellick declared, shortly after the board's action.

Wolfowitz courted controversy from the start because of his role in the Iraq war when he was deputy defense secretary. However, it was his role in arranging a hefty pay raise for Shaha Riza, his girlfriend and a bank employee, that forced his upcoming departure. That prompted a staff revolt and calls by Europeans and others for Wolfowitz to resign.

President Bush turned to Zoellick — his former top trade envoy and No. 2 diplomat — to heal the wounds and mend the relationships strained by the Wolfowitz episode. Welcoming the board's action Monday, Bush called Zoellick "a dynamic leader who is deeply committed to the mission of the World Bank."

New Wyoming senator sworn in

Dr. John Barrasso began his rounds on Capitol Hill on Monday, learning how to be a senator.

Barrasso, a conservative Republican surgeon who was until now a Wyoming state senator, was sworn in by Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday afternoon. Gov. Dave Freudenthal selected him to fill the seat of Sen. Craig Thomas, who died June 4 while being treated for leukemia.

At a photo session with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Wyoming's other senator, Republican Mike Enzi, Barrasso declined to answer any questions.

The Democrats hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate, and one Democrat, South Dakota's Tim Johnson, is absent, recovering from a brain hemorrhage.

Seattle Times news services