Kristalina Georgieva is to become chief executive of the World Bank in January, leaving a top post at the European Commission just a few months after her unsuccessful bid to be appointed UN secretary-general.
The move takes the Bulgarian commissioner, who has won widespread praise in Brussels for her steady handling of the EU’s politically fraught budget, back to the World Bank in Washington where she first made her name as a senior official.
Her departure from the commission was greeted with dismay by some senior EU officials, who saw Ms Georgieva as an independent voice willing to resist the tight-grip of Martin Selmayr, chief-of-staff to president Jean-Claude Juncker.
Ms Georgieva has in the past confided to colleagues her frustration over the top-down, domineering way the commission was run — a view shared by other commissioners. However, she stressed her decision to leave was unrelated.
“Of course, with everyone I work with . . . every so often we may disagree on some issues. That applies to everyone. That applies to Martin Selmayr,” she told an audience in Bratislava on Friday.
“But those that know me would be very surprised if I was to ever leave a task because of any one individual. I am very sad to leave.”
Mr Juncker said it was with “great regret” that he accepted Ms Georgieva’s decision to step down and said she would be “greatly missed”. “The fact that she has been asked to take a leading role in the World Bank is an acknowledgment and recognition of Kristalina Georgieva’s many talents and her professionalism,” he said. “I sincerely congratulate her on this new role.”
Günther Oettinger, the German commissioner for the digital economy, will take over Ms Georgieva’s portfolio on the budget.
It comes at an acutely sensitive time, with Britain’s departure from the EU leaving a multibillion-euro hole in future spending that throws into doubt some core assumptions about the bloc’s common spending. “This is a total minefield and she was remarkably sure footed,” said one EU ambassador. “It will be a hard act to follow.”
Under the newly created chief executive role at the World Bank, Ms Georgieva will report to president Jim Yong Kim, who was reappointed for a second five year term last month.
She will effectively act as a number two at the Bank, overseeing operations and main functions of the organisation. “Kristalina is a globally recognised leader with a proven record in improving the lives of those most in need,” said Mr Kim.
Ms Georgieva, who served for five years as the EU’s development commissioner, made an eleventh-hour entry into the race to be UN secretary-general but her candidacy failed to gain support. In the final vote she came eighth behind the winner, António Guterres of Portugal.
Within Brussels, Ms Georgieva’s departure was a cue for officials to express long-growing frustration over Mr Juncker’s management style and team. Mr Selmayr has become arguably the most powerful chief of staff in the history of the commission, wielding power that some commissioners admit far exceeds their own.
One senior official said the only surprise “was that more people have not left”. “Kristalina just happened to have a great offer. But lots of people have had enough,” the official said.
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