Newsmaker: Robert Zoellick, Nominee to Lead World Bank (1/2)

Robert Zoellick is President Bush's choice to head the World Bank. He is 53 years old and currently a vice chairman at Goldman Sachs, the New York investment bank. He has held a number of government positions over the years.

From 2001 to 2005 he served as the United States trade representative. He helped launch the Doha Round of world trade talks which were suspended last July. He also worked on free trade agreements with Singapore, Chile, Australia and Morocco.

In 2005, President Bush asked Mister Zoellick to become deputy" class="hjdict" word="deputy" target=_blank>deputy secretary of state. There, he helped negotiate a peace agreement between the government of Sudan and rebels in Darfur. That agreement later collapsed. He resigned in June of last year to join Goldman Sachs.

But last week, President Bush nominated Bob Zoellick to a 5-year term as the eleventh president of the World Bank. The board of governors at the bank is expected to confirm the choice to replace Paul Wolfowitz.