Robert Zoellick

President of the World Bank (2007-2012)

Robert Zoellick

President of the World Bank (2007-2012)

Robert Zoellick is one of the world’s most distinguished authorities on the global economy, international finance and foreign policy. He was the President of the World Bank Group from 2007 to 2012, U.S. Trade Representative from 2001 to 2005, and Deputy Secretary of State from 2005 to 2006. From 1985 to 1993, Zoellick served as Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury and Under Secretary of State, as well as White House Deputy Chief of Staff. During his tenure as President of the Worldbank, Robert turned around an institution in trouble, recapitalised the Bank, and expanded financing for developing countries during the food, fuel, and financial crises. He modernised the Bank by making it more accountable, flexible, fast-moving, transparent, and focused on good governance and anti-corruption. His record was also marked by an increased role for the private sector through the Bank’s International Finance Corporation, which under his leadership has boosted business, expanded equity investments, mobilised more co-investments, and recruited sovereign wealth funds and pension funds to invest in poor countries, especially in Africa. Zoellick holds a J.D. magna cum laude from the Harvard Law School, a master's degree in public policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and a bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College. Robert B. Zoellick is a Principal of Brunswick Group’s Geopolitical advisory offer and a Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. In addition, Zoellick serves on the boards of Temasek, Singapore’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, and Twitter, Inc., and is on the Advisory Board of Swiss Re. He is a member of the boards of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Carnegie Endowment, chairs the Global Tiger Initiative, and is a member of the Global Leadership Council of Mercy Corps, a global humanitarian agency. Zoellick is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, the Department of State’s highest honor, the Alexander Hamilton Award of the Department of the Treasury, and the Medal for Distinguished Public Service of the Department of Defense. The German government awarded him the Knight Commanders Cross for his achievements in the course of German unification. The Mexican and Chilean governments awarded him their highest honors for non-citizens, the Aztec Eagle and the Order of Merit, for recognition of his work on free trade, development, and the environment.

About Robert Zoellick

Robert Zoellick is one of the world’s most distinguished authorities on the global economy, international finance and foreign policy. He was the President of the World Bank Group from 2007 to 2012, U.S. Trade Representative from 2001 to 2005, and Deputy Secretary of State from 2005 to 2006. From 1985 to 1993, Zoellick served as Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury and Under Secretary of State, as well as White House Deputy Chief of Staff.

During his tenure as President of the Worldbank, Robert turned around an institution in trouble, recapitalised the Bank, and expanded financing for developing countries during the food, fuel, and financial crises. He modernised the Bank by making it more accountable, flexible, fast-moving, transparent, and focused on good governance and anti-corruption. His record was also marked by an increased role for the private sector through the Bank’s International Finance Corporation, which under his leadership has boosted business, expanded equity investments, mobilised more co-investments, and recruited sovereign wealth funds and pension funds to invest in poor countries, especially in Africa.

Zoellick holds a J.D. magna cum laude from the Harvard Law School, a master's degree in public policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and a bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College.

Robert B. Zoellick is a Principal of Brunswick Group’s Geopolitical advisory offer and a Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. In addition, Zoellick serves on the boards of Temasek, Singapore’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, and Twitter, Inc., and is on the Advisory Board of Swiss Re. He is a member of the boards of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Carnegie Endowment, chairs the Global Tiger Initiative, and is a member of the Global Leadership Council of Mercy Corps, a global humanitarian agency.

Zoellick is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, the Department of State’s highest honor, the Alexander Hamilton Award of the Department of the Treasury, and the Medal for Distinguished Public Service of the Department of Defense. The German government awarded him the Knight Commanders Cross for his achievements in the course of German unification. The Mexican and Chilean governments awarded him their highest honors for non-citizens, the Aztec Eagle and the Order of Merit, for recognition of his work on free trade, development, and the environment.

Topics

  • Role of Aid
  • Governance
  • Global Finance
  • China
  • International Trade
  • Future Trends

Books

  • America in the World: A History of U.S. Diplomacy and Foreign Policy, 2020
  • 21st Century Strategies of the Trilateral Countries: In Concert or Conflict?, 1999