James Wolfensohn (b. December 1, 1933) was the ninth president of the World Bank Group. He was born in Sydney, Australia. In 1980, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. On April 14, 2005 he was named international “special envoy” to help coordinate Israel’s planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and to spearhead reconstruction efforts once the Palestinians take over the area.
Wolfensohn's much-criticized successor is the former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.
According to The World's Banker by Sebastian Mallaby, Wolfensohn was raised in Australia, the son of an unsuccessful Jewish businessman who left England for Australia during the Great Depression. He was captain of the Australian fencing team in the Olympic Games before studying business at Harvard Business School. After a successful career in international banking, he was appointed president of the World Bank in 1995.
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