World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has resigned, more than three years before his term ends in 2022, the multilateral lender disclosed yesterday .
Kim is expected to leave office on February 1 .
Kim, 59, said that he will immediately join a firm and focus on increasing infrastructure in developing countries . The bank did not provide further details.
“ It’s been a great honor to serve as President of this remarkable institution, full of passionate individuals dedicated to the mission of ending extreme poverty in our lifetime , ” Kim said in a statement yesterday.
“ The world of the World Bank Group is more important now than ever as the aspirations of the poor rise all over the world , and problems like climate change , pandemics , famine and refugees continue to grow in both their scale and complexity,” he added .
Chief Executive Officer, Kristalina Georgieva will assume the role of interim president from February 1.
Kim, a South – Korean – born physician and anthropologist, raised in the United States , served as president of the World Bank since 2012. He was re- elected for a second five- year term that began in 2017.
Prior to taking the helm at the bank , he was the President of Dartmouth College , becoming the first Asian- American to lead the Ivy League institution.
He previously held posts at Harvard University and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he was known for his work combatting HIV/ AIDS.
