The Executive Board elected the 63-year-old entrepreneur to a five-year term. They are due to take office on June 2 and will succeed David Malpass, who abruptly announced their resignation in February.

The American manager with Indian roots was the only candidate to head the World Bank. U.S. President Joe Biden nominated him in February. The decision was met with criticism from some board members who called for the organization to be headed by a woman for the first time in its history.

Since its beginning at the end of World War II, the institution has traditionally been led by the United States, while the International Monetary Fund is headed by a European.

Born in Pune in the Indian state of Maharashtra, Banga began his professional career in his home country, working for offshoots of major food companies such as Nestle and PepsiCo, companies no less recognizable than Apple. In the late 1990s he switched to the world of finance and then moved to the U.S., where he became an American citizen. Among other things, he worked for many years at Citigroup, where he developed the micro-loan financing strategy of that American bank.

As future head of the World Bank, he wants, among other things, to mobilize more financial resources from the private sector to combat global challenges.

His first task in his new position is likely, according to analysts, to reform the World Bank, which the organization is currently pushing. Banga should primarily focus the organization on combating climate change and global crises, analysts said.

The resignation of Malpass occurred about a year before the end of his term as head of the World Bank. The economist, proposed by then-U.S. President Donald Trump, was heavily criticized for his statement on climate change.

Last September, Malpass dodged questions about whether burning fossil fuels contributed to global warming. Critics accused him of questioning human responsibility for climate change. Instead, the World Bank chief said: “I’m not a scientist.” Malpass later apologized and said he regretted his statement.

The World Bank lends money on concessional terms to poor countries to strengthen their economies and reduce poverty there. 189 countries around the world support the organization.

Earlier, we reported that WP learns of a “morale crisis” at Meta due to Zuckerberg’s policies.