James Wolfensohn
Founder, the Wolfensohn Centre at the Brookings
Institute, Washington DC
President of the World Bank Group (1995–2005)

James Wolfensohn served as the ninth president of the World Bank Group from 1995 until 2005. After serving two terms at the head of the World Bank, he founded the Wolfensohn Center for Development at the Brookings Institute – a Washington D.C. based think tank. The center examines how to implement, scale-up, and sustain interventions to solve key development challenges at a national, regional and global level, and strives to bridge the gap between development theorists and practitioners.

In 2005, Mr. Wolfensohn was also appointed as Special Envoy for Gaza disengagement by the Quartet on the Middle East.

He holds a degree in law from the University of Sydney, Australia, and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, USA. (P.Ress)