Many People are Saying the Choice to Nominate Kim was a Good One.

By Jeffrey Ledesma

President Barack Obama nominated Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim on Friday, March 23, to succeed Robert Zoellick as he next president of the World Bank.

Although Kim, 52, is highly regarded for his leadership on global health issues, he is relatively an unknown in political or financial circles. President Obama was under great pressure to select Zoellick’s replacement, the executive who is scheduled to retire in June.

According to The Washington Post, the president needed to find a nominee known not so much for political connections in Washington as for a demonstrated ability to carry on the bank’s mission of fostering development, especially in the poorest countries.

President Obama found that nominee in Kim who was born in South Korea and immigrated to the United States at the age of 5.

“We believe Mr. Obama has done just that in choosing… Kim, a physician who has dedicated most of his career to delivering health care to destitute people worldwide,” the editorial board wrote.

Many people agree. The state news agency Xinhua, according to the UK Telegraph, said the choice to make the a public health expert born in Seoul and raised in the U.S., is “encouraging”.

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UK Telegraph: Chinese Say Jim Yong Kim’s World Bank Nomination is ‘Encouraging’

Reuters: U.S. Steps Up its Push to Keep Top World Bank Role