Timeline of the World Bank

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This is a timeline of the World Bank.

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Time period Development summary
1950s "Beginning in the mid-1950s, it played a major role in financing investments in infrastructural projects in developing countries, including roads, hydroelectric dams, water and sewage facilities, maritime ports, and airports."[1]
1970s The Bank shifts its attention to poverty eradication. Development projects reflect people-oriented objectives rather than exclusively the construction of material structures. Projects related to food production, rural and urban development, and population, health and nutrition are designed to reach the poor directly.[2]
1980s The Bank continues to enlarge its focus on issues of social development. Issues of social life, including education, communications, cultural heritage, and good governance come to the fore.[2]

Full timeline

Year Month and date Event type Details
1944 The World Bank is created at the Bretton Woods Conference along with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).[1] The Bank’s initial aim is to help rebuild European countries devastated by World War II.[2] "The United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, better known as the Bretton Woods Conference, is held at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, July 1-22, 1944. The conference was preceded by years of planning and discussion that laid the foundation for the conference’s success. Lord John Maynard Keynes of the United Kingdom leads the commission on the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The commission produces the draft proposal for the World Bank’s Articles of Agreement, which are approved by conference delegates."[3]
1945 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is officially created when, on December 27th, a sufficient number of member country representatives convene in Washington, D.C., and sign the Bank’s Articles of Agreement. In a statement, the United States Treasury Secretary Fred M. Vinson announces that, “History is being written today.”[4]
1946 (March 18) The World Bank and International Monetary Fund Boards of Governors hold inaugural meeting in Savannah, Georgia. The Governors adopt bylaws, elect executive directors, and choose Washington, D.C., as the site for the two new institutions.[5]
1946 (June 18) American financier Eugene Meyer becomes the first World Bank President.[6]
1946 (June 25) The World Bank officially begins operations.[1] Staff start their first day of work.[7]
1946 (September 27) The World Bank Governors hold their first meeting in Washington, D.C.. Representatives from 38 countries attend the meeting.[8]
1947 (February 28) American lawyer John J. McCloy becomes World Bank President.[9]
1947 The World Bank grants its first loan to France, for post-war reconstruction.[2]
1947 (November 15) The United Nations and World Bank formalize relationship. The agreement with the United Nations is initially approved by the World Bank’s Board of Governors in September and then by the United Nations General Assembly. The agreement, which names the Bank as a specialized agency of the United Nations, defines the Bank as an independent organization and outlines its freedom in matters of lending and financial management.[10]
1949 (January 16) World Bank launches a training course for staff aimed at junior professional and administrative staff from member countries other than USA and UK. The year-long training consists of courses on the overall operations of the Bank followed by more intensive training in particular departments.[11]
1949 (July 1) Eugene R. Black Sr. becomes World Bank President.[12]
1950 The World Bank founds Aid India Club to provide massive assistance to finance India's developmental plans.[13]
1951 (September 30) Finland and Yugoslavia make first repayments of loans, signed in 1949 for the purpose of increasing the production of timber. The loans are designed as short-term loans and are the result of complicated negotiations between the World Bank, borrowing countries, and Western European nations. The loans aim to, among other objectives, restore East-West trade in Europe.[14]
1952 (October 1) The World Bank implements first reorganization. Prior to it, operations staff were organized along functional lines, with loan officers working separately from country and technical specialists. The new organization arranges staff geographically; each new operational department maintains operational relationships with a particular geographical group of the World Bank’s member countries. A new Department of Technical Operations is responsible for assessing the economic, financial, and technical merits of proposed projects and for following the progress of approved projects.[15]
1955 The Economic Development Institute is created[16] with the purpose to build country capacity by providing training for officials concerned with programs and projects in developing countries. Initially, courses are general in nature and offered exclusively in Washington, D.C. Over time, more intensive courses on topics such as project preparation and sector planning would be developed and offered outside of the United States.[17]
1956 The World Bank creates the International Finance Corporation.[18] Its purpose is to stimulate private investments in developing countries.[19]
1956 (July 20) The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is created as an affiliate of the World Bank and is designed to further economic development by encouraging the growth of private enterprise. IFC is initially authorized to have a total capital of $100 million but is restricted from involvement in equity financing.[20]
1956 (July 24) Robert L. Garner is appointed president of the International Finance Corporation.[21]
1956 (December 28) Indonesia signs Articles of Agreement with the International Finance Corporation.[22]
1957 The International Finance Corporation makes its first investment of US$2 million in Siemens' Brazilian affiliate, in conjunction with an $8.5 million investment by the affiliate's parent company, Siemens of Germany. The loan is to be used to expand plant facilities for the manufacture of electric generating equipment, switchgear, transformers, large motors, and accessories for utility and industrial application as well as telephone equipment.[23]
1958 The World Bank provides Nigeria with its first loan, US$28,000,000 for the construction of a new railway.[24]
1958 The World Bank establishes a staff training college to provide training to the senior officials of the member countries. This institution is referred to as Economic Development Institute (EDI) which has a network of several regional institutes. EDI organizes seminars in Washington in collaboration with regional training institutes.[25]
1958 (July 14) The World Bank Group signs Suez Canal compensation agreement at the request of Egypt and the United Kingdom. The Bank participates in negotiations for settling claims arising from the expropriation of the Suez Canal Company. The successful resolution of the claim allows for subsequent investment in the Suez Canal Authority by both the World Bank Group and private banks.[26]
1960 The International Development Association (IDA) is founded as a member of the World Bank Group. It provides interest-free long-term loans, technical assistance, and policy advice to low-income developing countries in areas such as health, education, and rural development.[1][18][25]
1962 June 1 The Junior Professionals Recruitment and Development Program is launched by the World Bank Group launches to attract young, exceptionally bright, and highly educated professionals from all over the world to join its fight against poverty. The program represents a major shift in the Bank Group’s recruitment process, which up until 1962 only included recruitment of mid-career professionals.[27]
1963 January 1 Eighteen newly independent African countries join the World Bank Group. In the following years, lending and technical assistance activities in the continent would increase correspondingly.[28]
1963 Key people American banker George David Woods becomes the 4th President of the World Bank.[29]
1963 The World Bank announces that it would place more emphasis on agricultural development in future.[30]
1965 August 17 Indonesia withdraws from the World Bank after more than a decade of membership in the institution during which time the Bank made no loans to the country.[31]
1966 The World Bank establishes the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), pursuant to the Convention for the Settlement of Investment Disputes Between States and Nationals of Other States.[32]
1967 April 13 Indonesia rejoins the World Bank.[33]
1968 Key people Robert McNamara becomes the fifth president of the World Bank.[34]
1971 The World Bank starts undertaking research studies in social and other fields. About 3 percent of its budget is allotted for economic and social research.[25]
1972 The World Bank Group Staff Association is created. Its role is to champion World Bank Group policies that are beneficial to staff, foster a sense of community among staffmembers, and assist staff with conflict resolution. The Staff Association is established through a Bankwide referendum. James Chaffey is subsequently elected the Staff Association's first chairman.[35]
1972 August 10 World Bank Group announces major reorganization, the first since 1952. In response to the institution's rapid growth and expansion of activities a new operational structure is required. Five new regional vice presidencies are established and, in an attempt to more effectively fuse country knowledge and sectoral skills, most of the Bank's operational project work staff are relocated into the new regional units.[36]
1973 May 1 The World Bank Group joins efforts to fight onchocerciasis. Together with the Food and Agriculture Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, and the World Health Organization, the World Bank Group launches the Onchocerciasis Control Programme (OCP). The Bank assumes responsibility for fundraising, donor coordination, and fund administration. The OCP will prove to be one of the Bank's most effective cofinancing operations.[37]
1978 August 16 The First World Development Report is published. Today an annual publication authored by staff from across the institution, it provides external audiences with comprehensive assessments of topical global development issues. The first report identifies “a number of fundamental problems confronting the developing countries and explores their relationship to the underlying trends in the international economy.”[38]
1979 June 30 World Bank Group annual commitments exceed US$10 billion for fiscal year. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development commitments total almost $7 billion, while International Development Association commitments total more than $2.3 billion. The {{w|International Finance Corporation} makes 48 investments amounting to $425 million.[39]
1980 March 25 First Structural Adjustment Loan approved. Structural Adjustment Loans (SALs) reduce the medium-term account deficits of a borrowing country while supporting adjustment programs, which include specific policy changes designed to strengthen a country's balance of payments. Turkey receives the first SAL for $200 million to reduce inflation, increase foreign exchange earnings, and improve domestic resource mobilization in the public and private sectors.[40]
1980 July 1 The World Bank Group establishes an Administrative Tribunal with the purpose to facilitate a judicial review of administrative decisions affecting Bank staff.[41]
1981 january 1 The phrase “emerging markets” is coined by International Finance Corporation staff member Antoine van Agtmael while promoting a global listed equity investment fund for developing countries. The term would change the financial world's perception of developing countries and define a new asset class.[42]
1981 Key people Alden W. Clausen becomes the sixth President of the World Bank Group.[43]
1982 September 1 American economist Anne Osborn Krueger becomes World Bank Chief Economist.[44]
1983 The World Bank constitutes the Research Policy Council (RPC) to provide leadership in the guidance, coordination and evaluation of all research work undertaken by the bank.[25]
1986 U.S Congressman Barber Conable becomes the seventh President of the World Bank Group.[45]
1991 Lewis Thompson Preston is selected as the eighth president of the World Bank.[46]
1991 Key people American economist Lawrence Summers is appointed World Bank Chief Economist.[47]
1991 December Post-Soviet states join the World Bank Group.[48]
1993 Key people Israeli economist Michael Bruno is appointed World Bank Chief Economist.
1995 June 1 Australian American lawyer James Wolfensohn becomes the ninth President of the World Bank Group.[49]
1997 Key people American economist and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz is appointed World Bank Chief Economist.[50]
1999 September 14 The World Bank launches the first major global response to HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa, helping put in place the foundations of the response: national strategies, a governance structure, and systems for monitoring and evaluation. A multi-sectoral response is promoted by focusing on HIV/AIDS as a development issue and by engaging both local communities and the private sector. The Bank Group is an early participant in the international fight against HIV/AIDS, investing in health projects with HIV/AIDS components as early as 1987 and funding its first freestanding AIDS project in Zaire in 1989.[51][52]
2000 The World Bank and partners in 16 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Europe launch GDLN.[16]
2000 Key people British economist Nicholas Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford is appointed World Bank Chief Economist.[53]
2003 June 7 The World Bank Group launches the e-Library, an electronic portal that provides libraries and institutions access to the World Bank Group’s collection of books, reports, and other documents.[54]
2003 October Key people François Bourguignon is appointed World Bank Chief Economist.[55]
2005 June 1 Key people American political scientist Paul Dundes Wolfowitz becomes the tenth President of the World Bank Group.[56]
2007 June 1 Key people American public official Robert Zoellick becomes the eleventh President of the World Bank Group.[57]
2008 June 2 Key people Chinese economist Justin Yifu Lin is appointed World Bank Chief Economist.[58]
2010 April 20 World Bank Group launches the Open Data Initiative, which initially makes available more than 2,000 sets of statistics to the public. The initiative provides free and open access to data that has previously been restricted to commercial use and was only available to paying users.[59]
2012 June Key people Australian economist Martin Ravallion is appointed World Bank Chief Economist.[60]
2012 July Korean-American physician Jim Yong Kim becomes the twelfth President of the World Bank Group.[61]
2012 October Key people Indian economist Kaushik Basu is appointed World Bank Chief Economist.[62]
2016 October Key people American economist Paul Romer is appointed World Bank Chief Economist.[63]
2018 January Key people Shanta Devarajan is appointed World Bank Chief Economist.
2018 November Key people Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg is appointed World Bank Chief Economist.[64]

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See also

External links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "World Bank". britannica.com. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "History". worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  3. "Bretton Woods Conference begins". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  4. "World Bank's Articles of Agreement enter into force". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  5. "World Bank and International Monetary Fund Boards of Governors hold inaugural meeting". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  6. "Eugene Meyer becomes the first World Bank President". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  7. "World Bank staff start their first day of work". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  8. "World Bank Governors hold their first meeting". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  9. "John J. McCloy becomes World Bank President". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  10. "The United Nations and World Bank formalize relationship". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  11. "World Bank launches a training course for staff". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  12. "Eugene R. Black becomes World Bank President". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  13. "The World Bank has made a significant contribution to India's planned economic development". preservearticles.com. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  14. "Finland and Yugoslavia make first repayments of loans". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  15. "World Bank implements first reorganization". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  16. 16.0 16.1 "Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) World Forum" (PDF). siteresources.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  17. "World Bank establishes Economic Development Institute". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  18. 18.0 18.1 "Bretton Woods system". cs.mcgill.ca. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  19. "Banks and Banking". go.grolier.com. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  20. "International Finance Corporation (IFC) founded". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  21. "Robert L. Garner becomes president of IFC". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  22. "Indonesia signs IFC Articles of Agreement". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  23. "IFC makes its first investment". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  24. "The World Bank and Nigeria". jstor.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 "Important activities of World Bank". accountlearning.com. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  26. "The World Bank Group signs Suez Canal compensation agreement". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 1 April 2019. 
  27. "World Bank Group launches Junior Professionals Recruitment and Development Program". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  28. "Eighteen newly independent African countries join the World Bank Group". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  29. "George David Woods". worldbank.org. Retrieved 2 April 2019. 
  30. "All-Africa Review of Experiences with Commercial Agriculture" (PDF). siteresources.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  31. "Indonesia withdraws from World Bank membership". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  32. "The Settlement of International Economic Disputes" (PDF). core.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  33. "Indonesia rejoins the World Bank". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  34. "Robert Strange McNamara". worldbank.org. Retrieved 2 April 2019. 
  35. "World Bank Group Staff Association created". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  36. "World Bank Group announces major reorganization". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  37. "World Bank Group joins efforts to fight river blindness". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  38. "First World Development Report published". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  39. "World Bank Group annual commitments exceed $10 billion". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  40. "First Structural Adjustment Loan approved". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  41. "World Bank Group establishes Administrative Tribunal". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  42. "IFC coins phrase "emerging markets"". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  43. "Alden Winship Clausen". worldbank.org. Retrieved 2 April 2019. 
  44. "Anne Krueger becomes first female vice president". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  45. "Barber Conable". worldbank.org. Retrieved 2 April 2019. 
  46. "Lewis Thompson Preston". worldbank.org. Retrieved 2 April 2019. 
  47. "Lawrence H. Summers". britannica.com. Retrieved 11 April 2019. 
  48. "Post-Soviet states join the World Bank Group". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  49. "James David Wolfensohn". worldbank.org. Retrieved 2 April 2019. 
  50. "Joseph Stiglitz". blogs.worldbank.org. Retrieved 11 April 2019. 
  51. "World Bank Group launches new HIV/AIDS strategic plan". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  52. "The Multi-Country HIV/AIDS Program for Africa (MAP)". worldbank.org. Retrieved 11 April 2019. 
  53. "Prof. Nicholas Stern". lse.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2019. 
  54. "World Bank Group launches the e-Library". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  55. "François Bourguignon" (PDF). siteresources.worldbank.org. Retrieved 11 April 2019. 
  56. "Paul Dundes Wolfowitz". worldbank.org. Retrieved 2 April 2019. 
  57. "Robert Bruce Zoellick". worldbank.org. Retrieved 2 April 2019. 
  58. "Justin Yifu Lin". blogs.worldbank.org. Retrieved 11 April 2019. 
  59. "World Bank Group launches Open Data Initiative". timeline.worldbank.org. Retrieved 3 April 2019. 
  60. "Martin Ravallion". parisschoolofeconomics.eu. Retrieved 11 April 2019. 
  61. "Jim Yong Kim". worldbank.org. Retrieved 2 April 2019. 
  62. "World Bank Appoints Kaushik Basu Chief Economist". worldbank.org. Retrieved 11 April 2019. 
  63. "World Bank Group President Appoints Paul Romer as Chief Economist". worldbank.org. Retrieved 11 April 2019. 
  64. "World Bank Group President Appoints Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg as Chief Economist". worldbank.org. Retrieved 11 April 2019.