World Bank

   The World Bank is a joint stock company whose shareholders are 185 member countries of the organization. Number of votes held by the member countries depends on their share of the capital of the Bank, which in turn is determined by their share in the global economy. These shareholders are represented by the Governing Council, which is the supreme decision making body and determining the policy of the Bank. Typically, the governors are finance ministers of member countries. Governing Council meets once a year during the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

   Specific authority to manage the Bank between meetings of the Governing Council passed 24 Executive Directors, who work directly in the Bank headquarters in Washington. The Executive Director form the Board of Directors, chaired by the President of the Bank. The Board of Directors comprises five executive directors representing the interests of Member States with the largest stakes in: United States, Japan, Germany, France and Britain. The remaining 19 executive directors represent groups of countries.

   The Board of Directors usually meets twice a week and provides overall leadership of the Bank, including those responsible for approving all loans and other decisions affecting the activities of the Bank:

         approving loans and guarantees

         definition of the general principles of the Bank

         approval of the budget of the Bank

         development of country assistance strategies

         decisions regarding borrowing and other issues of financial activity.

   World Bank President (currently Robert B. Zoellick) preside at meetings of the Board of Directors and is responsible for overall management of the Bank. By tradition, the World Bank president is a citizen of the United States - a country which is the largest shareholder of the Bank. The President is elected by the Governing Council for five years and may be reelected. The five vice-presidents, including three senior vice-president (English Senior Vice-Presidents), and two executive vice-president (born Executive Vice-Presidents) are responsible for specific regions, sectors, activities and perform other specific functions.

   The World Bank has offices in more than one hundred countries worldwide, employing about 10000 people.