The Year in Review 2007

Robert B. Zoellick, a former U.S. Trade Representative and Deputy Secretary of the U.S. State Department, became the World Bank's 11th President in July 2007. In his "100 days" speech, Zoellick said the Bank must be the catalyst for an "inclusive and sustainable globalization." To reach the nearly 1 billion people who live on $1 a day, he said the Bank must not only work with the least-developed countries, but also middle-income ones where the majority of poor people live.

At the Annual Meetings, he outlined Six Strategic Themes that will guide the Bank's work. Emphasizing the relationships among the institution's four semi-autonomous organizations, he said "we must work as one World Bank Group for our clients."