World Bank hires Jim Yong Kim as new boss

KOREAN American Jim Yong Kim (right) has been named as The World Bank's next chief.

The decision to appoint a US-based candidate surprised few despite the first-ever challenge to the US lock on the Bank's presidency.

The Bank's directors chose Kim, a 52-year-old US health expert and educator, over Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Ms Okonjo-Iweala had argued that the huge lender needs reorientation under someone from the developing world.

Kim (52) is currently president of the US Ivy League University Dartmouth and will replace outgoing President Robert Zoellick, the former US diplomat who is departing in June.