Clinton in Talks About Possible Move to World Bank

Reuters

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been in discussions with the White House about leaving her job next year to become head of the World Bank, sources familiar with the discussions said Thursday.

The former first lady and onetime political rival to President Barack Obama quickly became one of the most influential members of his cabinet after she began her tenure at State in early 2009.

She has said publicly she did not plan to stay on at the State Department for more than four years. Associates say Clinton has expressed interest in having the World Bank job should the Bank's current president, Robert Zoellick, leave at the end of his term, in the middle of 2012.

"Hillary Clinton wants the job," said one source who knows the secretary well.

A second source also said Clinton wants the position.

A third source said Obama has already expressed support for the change in her role. It is unclear whether Obama has formally agreed to nominate her for the post, which would require approval by the 187 member countries of the World Bank.

The White House declined to comment.

A spokesman for Clinton, Philippe Reines, denied she wanted the job or had conversations with the White House about it.

Revelations of these discussions could hurt Clinton's efforts as America's top diplomat if she is seen as a lame duck in the job at a time of great foreign policy challenges for the Obama administration.

However, the timing of the discussions is not unusual given that the United States is considering whether to support another European as head of the World Bank's sister organization, the IMF.

The head of the IMF has always been a European and the World Bank presidency has always been held by an American.

That unwritten gentleman's agreement between Europe and the United States, is now being aggressively challenged by fast-growing emerging market economies that have been shut out of the process.

The United States has not publicly supported the European candidate for the IMF, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, although Washington's support is expected.

Neither institution has ever been headed by a woman.

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