Wolfowitz Departure: Healing 1st Step

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz departs his home in Chevy Chase, Md., Friday, May 18, 2007. Wolfowitz said Thursday he will resign at the end of June, giving up his long fight to survive pressure for his ouster over the generous compensation he arranged for his girlfriend. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (J. Scott Applewhite - AP)

_ Britain's international development secretary, Hilary Benn, said he was "relieved that this damaging time for the bank is finally over. The bank's task now is to renew its efforts to lift people out of poverty."

_ German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, a vocal critic of Wolfowitz, said, "The bank must quickly recover its full ability to act."

By tradition, the World Bank has been run by an American, and the U.S., the bank's biggest financial contributor, wants to keep that practice intact. But it's not a rule, and Bush spokesman Fratto was asked about the possibility of outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Fratto said he wasn't aware of that subject coming up in Bush's conversations with Blair this week. Nor would he comment on American names mentioned in news stories.

Among them: former Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, who was Bush's former trade chief; Robert Kimmitt, No. 2 at the Treasury Department; Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson; former Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa; Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind.; Stanley Fischer, who once worked at the International Monetary Fund and is now with the Bank of Israel, and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

Bush's selection must be approved by the World Bank's board.

Paulson, who will work with the president on finding a successor to Wolfowitz, said, "I will consult my colleagues around the world as we search for a leader."

That suggests a consultative approach to finding a new head of the bank. Bush's selection of Wolfowitz in 2005 stunned many overseas, especially Europeans who were upset that he would tap someone so closely associated with the Iraq war.

The bank, created in 1945 to rebuild Europe after World War II, provides more than $20 billion a year for projects such as building dams and roads, bolstering education and fighting disease. The bank's centerpiece program offers interest-free loans to the poorest countries.

Wolfowitz waged a vigorous battle to save his job and maintained he had acted in good faith. He was all but forced out, however, by the finding of a special bank panel that he violated conflict-of-interest rules in his handling of Riza's pay package.

After days of negotiations, Wolfowitz one thing he wanted _ an acknowledgment from the bank's board that he did not bear sole responsibility.

As he left his home Friday morning, Wolfowitz, struck a conciliatory tone, telling The Associated Press that he was "particularly grateful for the hard work" of the bank's staff. "We have accomplished a lot in the last two years. ... I am happy to claim a little bit of credit, but it couldn't happen without them."

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