World Bank President Malpass Will Step Down

David Malpass will leave his position before the scheduled end of his term. In recent months, he had come under harsh criticism and resignation requests due to his comments on climate change. David Malpass, the president of the World Bank, announced unexpectedly that he would step down at the end of June.

According to the announcement made on Wednesday, Malpass would resign almost a year before the end of his term. The World Bank paraphrased Malpass as saying, "The last four years have been some of the most meaningful of my career,"  "Having made much progress, and after a good deal of thought, I've decided to pursue new challenges.". He continued,  "With developing countries facing unprecedented crises, I'm proud that the Bank Group has responded with speed, scale, innovation, and impact,"  The 66-year-old has served in previous American Republican administrations.

In 2019, during Donald Trump's presidency, he was appointed the chief of the development bank with headquarters in Washington. His position has been tainted by criticisms about his remarks regarding climate change, and in recent months, calls for his resignation or removal have been made. Malpass was accused of denying the existence of the climate crisis.

When asked on stage in September to address the allegation made by former US vice president Al Gore that he was a climate denial, Malpass repeatedly declined to state if he thought human activity was warming the world "I'm not a scientist." Malpass'   he replied. The White House and Germany's Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze, who described Malpass' statement as "irritating," both harshly criticized it. The chief of the World Bank later expressed regret for his word choice.