REMEMBERING JAMES D. WOLFENSOHN (1933 – 2020)
By: World Bank Group Alumni
Table of Contents
Foreword ...... 5 Jim’s Speechwriting Marathon by Katherine Marshall ...... 6 Hard Act to Follow by Joe Ingram ...... 7 Down-to-earth: JDW Lines up in the Cafeteria by Christian A. Schmidt ...... 9 Creating a New Acronym by Anthony Cholst ...... 10 Keeping the Faith while Saving IDA by Paula Donovan...... 11 A Baghdad Bombing and a Wolfensohn Phone Call by John Speakman ... 13 An Elevator Ride with JDW then a Critical Briefing by Nichola J. Dyer ...... 14 Results on the Ground by George C. Ledec ...... 16 Rockin’ with Jim and Wyclef Jean by Melanie Smeallie Mbuyi ...... 17 The Boss Serves the Grub by Richard Moss ...... 18 An Inspirational President by Yolande Duhem ...... 19 A Call from JDW by Willem van Eeghen ...... 20 Vision of Fairness by Jitendra Shah ...... 21 A Unique Disrupter by Miguel Schloss ...... 22 Dreaming Big with JDW by Leonora A. Gonzales ...... 23 He Knew My First Name by Sushma Ganguly ...... 24 Creating World Links by Sam Carlson ...... 25 Talking to the Poor People by Jennifer Manly ...... 26 Tackling Corruption by John M. Courtney ...... 27 Fighting Poverty with Passion by Keshav Varma ...... 28 Manila Memories by Brenda Bermudez ...... 29 Reaching Out to NGOs by Carolyn Reynolds ...... 30 Birth of the Comprehensive Development Framework by R. Pablo Guerrero O...... 31
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Reviving the Bank by Mark Baird ...... 32 It All Started with a Chance Meeting in the Bank Garage by Robert Picciotto ...... 34 Source of Inspiration by Benoit Millot ...... 36 Forever in my Heart by Araceli Tria ...... 37 A Caring JDW by Joy de Beyer ...... 38 JDW Speaks from the Heart by Deepa Narayan ...... 39 Music and the Man by Karen Merszei (formerly Broome) ...... 40 Educating Poor Children by Shanta Devarajan ...... 41 Two Fencers Find Each Other by Carmen Niethammer ...... 42 How Jim Wolfensohn Created the Knowledge Bank by Stephen Denning 43 Working with NGOs by Ishrat Husain ...... 45 Incredible Wisdom by Luigi Passamonti ...... 46 The World's Banker by Jane Kirby-Zaki...... 47 Expanding the Bank’s Stakeholders by John Clark ...... 49 Annual Meetings with JDW by Patricia Rojas ...... 50 JDW: A Genuine Mensch by Myra Jacobs...... 51 JDW Personal Assistant’s Perspective by Jane Holden ...... 52 Austrian Cookies for Jim but Don’t Tell Elaine by Gerda V. Merwal ...... 55 JDW: A True Legend by Vipul Prakash ...... 56 Patron of Cultural Heritage by Peter Dewees ...... 58 Charismatic Polymath by Jane Armitage ...... 59 Working the Korean Crisis with JDW by Sri-ram Aiyer ...... 60 Larger than Life by Christine Wallich ...... 62 Look! Look! He’s on the floor! In his suit!! by Diana MacKay ...... 63 Clinton on Wolfensohn by Ruth Kagia ...... 64
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Gladiator by Waafas Ofosu-Amaah ...... 65 When JDW Zoomed in on Technology and never blinked! by Mohamed Muhsin ...... 66 Fighting HIV/AIDS by Debrework Zewdie ...... 68 The Knowledge President by Lesley Shneier ...... 70 Remarkable Man by Dianne Lust ...... 72 Passionate Leader by Ritva Reinikka ...... 73 The “Golden Rolodex” Man by Sarwat Hussain ...... 74 JDW: “I Love You for Loving Orphans” by Javeline Chansa ...... 76 Supporting the Children by Djordjija Petkoski ...... 78 Creating Diversity and Inclusion by Jeand'Arc Lewis...... 79 Special Photos with Jim by Josephine Armar ...... 80 Speaking French (and dancing) in Mali by Chantal Dejou ...... 82 Mongolian Memories by Saha Meyanathan ...... 84 Best of the Bunch by Elizabeth Colecraft ...... 85 JDW and the MCC by Paul Applegarth ...... 86
Note: The entries above are listed in the order they were received.
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Foreword
Jim Wolfensohn, who served as the president of the World Bank from 1995 to 2005, passed away on November 25 at his home in Manhattan. His wife, Elaine, an educator who took a keen interest in the Bank’s work in the sector, died three months before her husband, in August.
Jim had a very consequential career as the leader of the World Bank. There have been highly laudatory obituaries written in press world over. Among his most notable accomplishments that were noted in these obits include: establishing a productive dialogue with the NGOs who had been very critical of the Bank, his leadership for writing off unsustainable debts of poor countries, getting the Bank to include tackling corruption in its agenda, and moving the Bank closer to the clients through the establishment of several country offices.
This book is a compilation of messages of condolences sent by several World Bank alumni. Each of these messages sheds light on different aspects of Jim - as a leader, a passionate advocate for the poor, and a human being. As the messages indicate, Jim was widely admired in the World Bank.
The book was compiled and edited by 1818 Society members, Brenda Bermudez and Tom Blinkhorn. Their contribution is gratefully acknowledged.
The World Bank Group Alumni (“The 1818 Society”)
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Jim’s Speechwriting Marathon by Katherine Marshall
Jim Wolfensohn was a skillful communicator (though, as far as I know, he never bit on Twitter or Instagram). But his speechwriters often tore their hair out. I was not a speechwriter but did find myself once in a setting where I labored over the text of a speech through a long night. The boss had made it unmistakably clear during a late evening encounter that he was deeply unhappy with a prepared text he was to deliver. The topic was corruption, the setting a speech he was to deliver the next morning in an African country, sometime after he had established his role as a leading voice calling for action to fight corruption. Whoever had done the original draft was far away so whoever was at hand was drafted to the cause. A few pithy comments made clear his displeasure, alongside a few hints as to how it should be fixed.
So a small improvised team scratched their heads, looked at the text, which seemed pretty standard speech material, and set to work. We labored through much of the night, crafting text that seemed compelling, informative, moving.
Early the next day we met the boss who told the team that he loved the text. Sighs of relief.
The moment for the speech arrived. JDW mounted the podium with the text in his hands. He tossed off a few introductory remarks, then said that he planned to speak from the heart and that he would throw away the text prepared for him. He did so physically, tossing the papers aside. He delivered his remarks.
Truth be told he had internalized the core of the prepared text and the effort was not entirely in vain. We even used the text for the record of the event. But my heart went out to the regular speechwriters.
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Hard Act to Follow by Joe Ingram
In a recent Facebook comment relating to Jim’s death I observed that like all great men he had his flaws, but like all great men they were vastly outweighed by the virtues he brought to the Presidency of the Bank. Having served under six different Presidents, I have concluded that but two did little more than allow the Bank to drift as an institution. As did Bob McNamara, Jim succeeded in transforming the Bank into the world’s foremost development institution. He did so by creating what was a reflection of his personal vision of the development process – a multi-dimensional one that included poverty eradication, good governance, anti-corruption, support for human rights, nurturing civil society, knowledge acquisition, and perhaps most importantly, listening to and supporting the client’s priorities - with the client more broadly defined than in the past. This was a distinct departure from what had been a narrow focus on economic performance and income as the driving metrics for achieving progress. His renaming of the Economic Development Institute as the World Bank Institute –using it as a principle tool for creating the “knowledge bank” – and the creation of a satellite- based Global Distance Learning Network for imparting that knowledge to the poorest of our client countries and their populations, were reflective of both the audacity and insight he developed prior to and after joining the institution. Rather than the Bank working on its own, Jim also initiated an effort to create policy coherence and operational cooperation amongst the major development agencies, especially the specialized agencies of the UN system. His generosity was on display when he signed a personal check to assist the war-damaged National Museum in Sarajevo in preserving an ancient religious document treasured both by the government and by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Jewish community. In addition to his visits to the poorest and most afflicted communities when visiting client countries, his compassion for the poor was reflected by his insistence that as part of the Executive Development Program, senior managers, many of whom had experienced poverty only through the texts they had read in graduate schools, spend at least a week living with a poverty stricken family – the
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ultimate beneficiary of Bank lending – in one of our client countries. This was a unique requirement within the development finance community, and opened my eyes to dimensions of poverty my wife and I had not previously been exposed to even during the several years we served as Canadian volunteers in West Africa. Jim left his mark not only on the Bank and its staff, but more importantly on how we today, both practitioners and governments, understand the development process and the instruments for supporting it. He will be a very hard act to follow.
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Down-to-earth: JDW Lines up in the Cafeteria by Christian A. Schmidt
Two more down-to-earth remembrances stick in my mind.
The fact that Jim would come down to the main cafeteria and line up, like everybody else, to first select and then have his lunch with one or two other staff members. A real down to earth guy, I thought.
When in an early breakfast meeting with 4 top dog Palestinian officials in 2002, and with 4 Bank staff on our side, a pretty delicious breakfast was served during the meeting. While everybody dug in full heartedly, Jim merely pulled out a box with at least 12, if not 15, differently colored pills and gulped them down. That was his breakfast. An unforgettable picture that sticks in my memory forever.
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Creating a New Acronym by Anthony Cholst
Jim Wolfensohn was a giant among men. For some reason, many of the tributes I have seen leave out his greatest accomplishment which was to literally change the way practitioners approach development - which he called “The Comprehensive Development Framework”. Under the CDF, the country itself through dialogue between the government and civil society, sets the priorities to reduce poverty (known as Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs). Then the international partners provide coordinated support around this. Since then, many of the acronyms have changed but the essence - the client in the driver’s seat - has not. This deep understanding that no amount of technical expertise can replace country ownership in achieving effective development was a true revelation to those of us working at the World Bank and other development institutions.
Thank you President Wolfensohn for forever changing how we think about development.
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Keeping the Faith while Saving IDA by Paula Donovan
This is my favorite story about Jim that I love to share, because it was so unexpected in the hallowed halls of the 12th floor.
When Jim arrived at the Bank, IDA was in a dire situation. George HW Bush had promised Lewis Preston a major increase in the US IDA10 contribution over the IDA 9 level. However, with the Newt Gingrich revolution in 94, this was an impossible stretch and Congress would not deliver.
By the time Jim arrived at the Bank, the US was $ 1 billion in arrears to IDA. The Europeans were in open revolt and were rejecting even launching an IDA11 replenishment.
I was Director of Resource Mobilization and our hope was that somehow Japan could help us to mediate this horrendous hostile chasm between the US and the Europeans (who were strangely and uncharacteristically unified!).
I met Jim before heading off to Japan to explore some (not very appetizing) options from the Japanese perspective. We looked together at the feeble sales pitch.... knowing this was probably a fool's errand.
As I stood up to leave, Jim looked at me very kindly and said, " Keep the faith, remember that this is God's work."
I still get goosebumps thinking of that moment. I am not much of a godly person, and I don't think he was either.
But he reached for these words, I think, because he knew that at that time, it was going to take something on the 'miraculous' side, for us all to find a way through this really treacherous time for IDA. Until that moment I had never heard anybody use words like faith or God in 17 years working at the Bank!
I firmly believe that Jim's unique determination, wide ranging rolodex, force of personality, capacity as a 'street fighter' (when needed) and his unending
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It is no exaggeration to say that Jim saved IDA. I was sorry that this incalculable contribution of Jim was not covered more publicly in subsequent years, as IDA funding tensions subsided. And still, I am sure he realized that it was wise to let this particularly dangerous time for IDA to fade from history.
I'm grateful that I had a chance to remind him of this special time and his invaluable contribution, as he was leaving the Bank and I'm glad to be able to remember him with deep appreciation now also.
We can all celebrate his 'life well lived' with gratitude.
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A Baghdad Bombing and a Wolfensohn Phone Call by John Speakman
One fateful day the Canal Hotel bombing occurred. A number of UN staff including one World Banker were killed A few hours later, Jan (also an Aussie), told me some Aussie called Jim called her to ask after her and tell her I was safe and sound. We later figured out it was the president. That was who Jim Wolfensohn was and my story that there was nothing to worry about didn’t fly.
He was the most caring and capable of the five Bank presidents I served under.
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An Elevator Ride with JDW then a Critical Briefing by Nichola J. Dyer
President Jim Wolfensohn had a profound impact on the World Bank as an institution. Moreover, he connected with staff personally, individually, meaningfully, enduringly.
I want to share two stories about those connections. One is about the many; the other is about the one.
The first took place sometime in 2013. At the time, I was working on the eleventh floor of the Main Complex. That day, as with any other day, I stepped into the elevator. It was crowded, as could be expected around lunchtime. Yet the atmosphere was different, almost electric. Jim Wolfensohn, cheerfully conversing with his fellow travelers, was one of the occupants. At each floor, those embarking did a double-take when they saw him – and their faces just lit up. By the time the elevator reached the ground floor, the positive energy was palpable.
The other story is about a unique interaction I had with him in the early 2000s. While it revolved around preparing a briefing, it took place outside the usual limelight of Bank meetings, presidential trips, and other formalities.
It began shortly before noon on a New Year's Eve, while I was serving as Special Assistant to Callisto Madavo, the Africa Region VP at the time. President Wolfensohn called the front office directly to request a briefing on DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) in time for a lunch he would be having later that same day. With the building practically empty and no time to track people down, it fell to me to do it.
I gave him an initial overview. He had several follow-up questions, so I offered to gather more information if there was time. He said he still had a couple of hours, so I assembled the briefing, ran it by Callisto, and called the President back at the number he had given me. As it turned out, the lunch would be at his home in Wyoming with one of his neighbors. He listened intently, asked some more pointed questions, thanked me...and the conversation was over. I thought that was the end of it.
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To my astonishment, one week later, a message appeared in my inbox from his personal email account, addressed directly to me and copied to Callisto. In it, he thanked me for the helpful briefing and shared that Dr. Close had been very impressed.
For me, that email just epitomized leadership. I, a junior staff member, was thrilled to receive a personal note of thanks from the World Bank President. Many in that role wouldn't have done so, yet he took the time to send it and, further, copied my manager. Plus, he satisfied my curiosity about the identity of his guest!
A printout of that email is one of my most treasured souvenirs from my Bank career,
My deepest and most heartfelt condolences go to Jim Wolfensohn’s family and friends. He brought his vision for economic development to the World Bank, transformed the institution, and in the process touched so many lives. May his soul rest in everlasting and well-earned peace.
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Results on the Ground by George C. Ledec
Jim Wolfensohn was my very favorite of all the World Bank Presidents during my WB service (since 1982). He has left us with a very impressive and enduring legacy. I am especially grateful for his work to establish the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, which continues to have a key role in biodiversity conservation. His one saying which I most remember--and try to follow every day in my work--is to emphasize "results on the ground". After a life filled with wonderful accomplishments, may he rest in peace.
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Rockin’ with Jim and Wyclef Jean by Melanie Smeallie Mbuyi
I spent close to 30 years at the Bank and President Wolfensohn was the most memorable president in all those 30 years. His passion for the mission and our clients was visible every day. My favorite memory was from the early 2000’s when Rapper Wyclef Jean visit his office to discuss our efforts in Haiti. Wyclef then played a lunchtime concert in the atrium for staff. Jim jumped on stage sporting a bandana around his head and danced to the music with Wyclef. The crowd went nuts!
R.I.P.
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The Boss Serves the Grub by Richard Moss
I read it through again. The speech showed the imprint of many hands.
My Director and Vice-President allowed me, as project manager, to make huge decisions by myself. They hardly registered the fact that I expanded the size of the windows by 50%, despite the architect’s protests. But this was different.
Wolfensohn’s speech for the topping out of the new IFC headquarters went through an incredible number of drafts. Naturally, it got worse and worse.
I found out later that he took one look at the speech and put it away.
When he got up to speak, the workers were getting restive. They had been eyeing the food all the time the CEO of the construction company was thanking the dignitaries.
Wolfensohn ignores us all and addresses the workers directly. He’s telling them that they have done a fantastic job in all weathers. He’s making them feel ten feet tall.
When he finishes, he leaves the line of dignitaries and goes behind the long tables. He’s serving out the food! Hundreds of workers. He’ll just serve a few and then leave. Otherwise he’ll be there forever.
The line is moving slowly. He has a friendly word and a smile for each worker. He’s served every last worker.
What’s he doing now? He’s going round the workers as they eat. Enthusiastic handshakes. Bear hugs!
I avoided the building site for a long time. All they wanted to do was talk about him.
Man, they said, he was something else.
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An Inspirational President by Yolande Duhem
I worked for 19 wonderful years in Central America, Latin America's Southern Cone, and Africa, filled with a passion to make a difference. I owe this fulfilling career in the field to Jim Wolfensohn's strategic and charismatic leadership to make the World Bank Group a meaningful force in the fight against poverty. I am forever grateful. My most heartfelt condolences to his family.
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A Call from JDW by Willem van Eeghen
I was supposed to accompany and coordinate Mr. Wolfensohn's (JDW) first visit as World Bank President to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). I was just a simple economist at the time. Due to illness I had to withdraw from that trip at the last minute. When JDW heard about my withdrawal, he called me personally at home and asked how I was doing. He told me that I could join his trip at any point in time. Even though I did not go on that trip, he thanked me for my contribution afterwards. I will always remember that gesture and JDW's personal touch.
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Vision of Fairness by Jitendra Shah
Mr. Jim Wolfensohn was a great leader, one of the BEST World Bank president. His accomplishments have been many and are lauded by everyone. So I will focus on what he did for long term consultants. He uncovered unfair treatment of long-term consultants and fixed it. There were two categories of fulltime employees. One labeled “staff" and other labeled "long term consultants”. Both worked fulltime but long-term consultants did not get all benefits. This was because of quota system of how many staff can be from a given country, gender, etc. This was explained to us when we joined so we had no issue. We were more interested in doing the development work. Not getting all benefits was not that important. He objected to this unfair treatment. He challenged the system and said, "either you hire them or let them go". To him, employees doing the same work have to be treated the same. How can World Bank tell countries about unfair treatment of their citizens when we were doing this within our own institution! I along with thousands of long-term consultants were made staff and got benefits. Today as a retired person, I realize the importance of those benefits. I appreciate what he did for us long term consultants as well as his development work known to everyone. I am thankful for his vision of fairness.
RIP
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A Unique Disrupter by Miguel Schloss
Beyond the shadow of a doubt, Jim Wolfensohn was in a league of his own. Visionary, strongly willed, and deeply human — he was oftentimes feared and at the same time admired by many.
Upon reflection, and after reading the articles and emails received from dozens of colleagues, I can only suspect how difficult (and lonely) it must have been for him to introduce the path-breaking reforms he sought to modernize the Bank.
As far as I could tell, deep down, he was fundamentally a disrupter — intellectually, emotionally, and in every other respect
But at the end of the day, no matter how well planned, the changes were inherently tumultuous (using the Washington Post's depiction). When all was said and done, the reforms produced a different and more up-to-date Bank, responding to emerging societal and borrowers’ demands, and with a distinctive Wolfensohn trademark.
Whether this could have been done in any other way is a matter of debate — but it was clear that we all had to face a changed international context that cried for a more effective, efficient and relevant World Bank.
It was a privilege to have contributed to help the Bank free itself from the organizational silos that had crept over the decades to face the challenging times ahead.
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Dreaming Big with JDW by Leonora A. Gonzales
I have always considered myself a JDW “baby” because James D Wolfensohn was the President of the World Bank Group when I joined the Bank in 1995. He was president for 10 years and he visited the Philippines twice. He inspired me to keep my values and to work hard to open the institution to wider and deeper engagement with CSOs and other players not usually engaging with the World Bank. His wife, Elaine, would always accompany him and she would always want to visit schools and interact with school children and their teachers.
He talked about partnerships for governance and development, to a large group of people, composed of government, NGOs, business, labor groups, development partners at the Asian Institute of Management during his visit in 2000. That was 20 years ago and today, just short of 5 years, what he said then was becoming a reality now. https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents- reports/documentdetail/561751468000019490/speech-at-the-multi- sectoral-conference-on-partnerships-for-governance-and-development-by- james-d-wolfensohn-president
On Thanksgiving Day, we thank God for your service, JDW. Rest in Peace with Elaine. We continue to dream and work for a world free of poverty.
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He Knew My First Name by Sushma Ganguly
This is to express my sincere condolences to Mr. Wolfensohn's family and friends. He was probably the best President that the Bank ever had, and started many innovative global, country, and poverty focused initiatives that had a lasting impact in many developing countries. Even his shaking out of the institution, and having many of us go for the Executive Development Program , and the experiential learning (actually, that we go and stay with a low income family, for a week or two, and experience poverty), left an indelible impression and changed my own and many others' management style/practices. The only President, during my 28 years at the Bank, who would know one by first name, and say hello to us, whether on the elevator or in the meetings. An extremely intelligent, focused, sensitive and a warm person, even though on the surface he sometimes came across a bit different.
His family, friends, colleagues, all the loved ones, should be so proud of Mr. Wolfensohn.
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Creating World Links by Sam Carlson
I was extremely lucky to have the unwavering support of both Jim and Elaine when we initiated the World Links for Development (WorLD) Program at the World Bank Institute in 1998. Both of them understood (long before many of my World Bank education sector colleagues) the potential of new technologies, particularly the Internet, to improve educational opportunities and outcomes in the developing world. They also understood that this should be done initially through grants not Operations, so our experimental and unproven program would not create any indebtedness. We were given free rein by Jim to raise funds and establish unconventional partnerships, and ultimately to spin the WorLD Program out of the World Bank to become its own non-profit organization. Jim created the Staff Exchange Program to allow World Bank employees to work outside the Bank to gain experience, skills and perspective, and he supported my move to become the Executive Director of World Links from 2000-2003. We raised over $5 million per year from traditional and corporate foundations, bilateral aid agencies, individual philanthropy, even pre-IPO stock donations leveraged by venture capitalists - Jim encouraged that entrepreneurial spirit. By 2002 World Links was operational in 35 developing countries reaching tens of thousands of students and teachers, backed by a strong independent monitoring and evaluation program. That evaluation program captured the truly transformational effects that access to technology and the Internet had for so many youth. Positive results eventually led to World Bank operational financing of educational technology and teacher professional development at a much larger scale, just as Jim and Elaine had imagined might be possible back in 1998. There is no question those 5 years (1998-2003) working under Jim and Elaine's leadership were the best of my 21 years at the World Bank, and I will be eternally grateful to both of them for their creative ideas and support. I miss both of them very much.
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Talking to the Poor People by Jennifer Manly
I was a Senior HR Officer for LAC (Latin and Central America) at the time that Jim Wolfensohn visited Jamaica. On his return to headquarters he gave us a summary of his activities and the highlight for me was the account of his stopping the car somewhere in the slums of Kingston to get out and talk to random people. There he asked questions about what development meant to them, what they saw as the needs that were being overlooked and what, in their minds, should be done to raise the living standards of the country at all levels. Jim Wolfensohn was willing to talk to, and listen to, not only senior government officials but also the people who were affected by government decisions in matters of development. I found this inspirational.
Note: Many years later I had a chance meeting with Jim Wolfensohn at an event in New York City. I reminded him of the Kingston visit and he seemed pleased to remember it.
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Tackling Corruption by John M. Courtney
We were from the same village, Sydney, and influenced by its culture and history so there were areas of common ground. We both joined the World Bank and he arrived as I departed in 1995. We met up five years later following his launch of a corruption agenda. The agenda included a discussion of the headquarters New Main Complex involving mismanagement and corruption which I had identified as the head of facilities strategy. I was encouraged to depart the Bank service after leading a team to analyze the problem and propose remedial actions. Jim enabled remedial actions in my case to reduce adverse impacts of what he viewed as heavy handed actions of the corruption and coverup group in the Bank at the time. He strongly endorsed change and was clearly most concerned about the costly headquarters edifice presented to him on arrival in 1995.
Condolences to Jim's family and a special salute to his efforts to reform the Bank particularly in the area of corruption.
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Fighting Poverty with Passion by Keshav Varma
I first met Jim in 1997 when I had just joined the Bank and was promptly dispatched to the Harvard Business School with other new managers. In a workshop, Jim invited us to write the Mission Statement of the new transformed Bank. I penned the following Mission Statement: ‘To Fight Poverty with Passion and Professionalism'.
I still recall the ‘thank you’ lunch at the Presidential suite. He served some rare Rothschild wines and I had to take a taxi back home.
I have often sat in our Atrium at the World Bank, which is named after him, and reflected about the way the World Bank had evolved under his Presidency. He made the Bank relevant by responding to needs of the poorest and showing that their voices mattered.
Jim was a tiger among men. He was an Olympian fencer, a musician and one of the greatest minds in the world of finance.
In these challenging times his spirit will continue to influence our success.
We wish to convey our heartfelt condolences to his children, Sara, Naomi and Adam and their families.
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Manila Memories by Brenda Bermudez
Oftentimes in our lives, we encounter amazing, admirable and inspiring people who leave a lasting effect on us. Such was JDW.
I was working at the WB Office Manila when I had the opportunity (more of a privilege) to meet him and his wife Elaine twice. Like my colleagues in the office, I was thrilled and excited to hear that he was visiting, yet at the same time, anxious on how we could make his visit productive and fun as well. On these visits, I found him to be a highly intelligent, passionate and charismatic leader with a beautiful smile, a sense of humor and a gentle demeanor.
At one of his conferences where he went extemporaneous, one could hear a pin drop as the guests were all so glued to him. Afterwards, one prominent businesswoman was heard openly saying “I just love Mr. Wolfensohn!”, which was really an expression of admiration, inspiration and respect. I can also recall that he specifically requested to have a get together with the country office staff where he shared light moments with us, and gamely posed for pictures.
Rest in peace Mr. Wolfensohn. Enjoy eternal bliss with Elaine.
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Reaching Out to NGOs by Carolyn Reynolds
I worked closely with Jim to drive the Bank’s outreach program with NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and shift towards a more constructive engagement. And just like others who worked with him, I was profoundly impacted by Jim, both as a visionary leader and as a human being. The world will miss him.
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Birth of the Comprehensive Development Framework by R. Pablo Guerrero O.
I worked directly for Jim for almost five years. He called me at home early one Spring morning in 1999 and asked if I could see him. He had written a concept paper on a Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF) longhand at his house in Jackson Hole during Christmas and a few weeks later I had presented it to the Board. He asked me if I was willing to run a Secretariat for the CDF. This was the beginning of a close and friendly official and private relationship. In my many travels with Jim he was always full of questions about how things were going with CDF and offered to help anyway he could. In meetings with Ministers or Heads of Development Agencies he was single-minded about getting their support and he usually did. That's how he got the CDF to underpin the development of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers that anchored debt relief for the poorer Bank/IMF borrowers. Jim's list of accomplishments on this front was impressive. He was well received everywhere. He elicited voices from those often silent. My fondest personal recollections were of his generosity and his unwavering support. I will not forget the many times he would call me at the end of the workday to just chat. He would stretch out on his office couch and ask questions about progress, about people, and about engaging Bank and outside leaders. For me the five years with Jim capped my career in development. It made me proud of the work the Bank was capable of doing.
Thank you, Jim.
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Reviving the Bank by Mark Baird
I first met Jim in 1995. He had just become President of the Bank at a time when the institution was in trouble… and needed major reforms. He didn’t trust insiders so turned to Michael Bruno (then Chief Economist) for advice. I worked for Michael as Director of Development Policy and sat in on their frequent conversations. Michael organised Jazz Sessions to bring Jim up to speed on development issues and he was also invited to travel on all of Jim’s overseas trips. When Michael was injured, I joined Jim on his first trip to Africa. I got to see first-hand his “nose” for development: the corrosive impact of corruption, the heavy burden of debt, the growing voice of civil society, and the perceived arrogance of advice from Washington. He loved meeting people and was equally at home talking with villagers under a tree as with presidents in formal dinners.
I always felt Jim was somewhat bemused by the faith Michael put in me. In many ways, I was the insider he was trying to reform. Even worse, I was an economist… who couldn’t possibly understand the financial and social underpinnings of development. I served as his VP for Strategy and Resource Management for two years. Jim never stopped me from providing honest feedback: often playing the role of the pesky kiwi up against the fencing kangaroo. Humour, more than anything else, allowed us to survive the highs and lows of our relationship.
When I was appointed Country Director for Indonesia in 1999, I’m sure Jim was pleased to see the back of me. But I’m grateful that he gave me this opportunity at a pivotal time in Indonesia’s history. I will always remember Jim’s visit with Elaine in February 2000. There were the usual encounters with NGOs,
32 | Page but now they were out in the open and Jim loved the robust debate. He also travelled rough to visit a Javanese village and pledged personal funding for a weaving project… something I had seen in Africa as well. A very generous and charming man.
During a trip back to Washington, I attended a retreat for Bank economists. During his keynote speech, Jim announced that he was staying on for 5 more years. Not surprising, given the audience, it received a muted response. I was asked to say something after lunch to cheer Jim up. Again, I resorted to humour, recounting how much easier it was to work with Jim from Jakarta. But at least Jim then got the standing ovation he deserved.
When I look back on Jim’s leadership, his nose for development was as finely tuned as it was for the arts and culture. Truly a renaissance man. Against the odds, Jim rebuilt and revived the World Bank, providing a real sense of purpose and direction.
Rest in peace Jim: a life lived to the full, a job well done.
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It All Started with a Chance Meeting in the Bank Garage by Robert Picciotto
I first met Jim Wolfensohn in Princeton soon after his appointment as World Bank President in 1995. The occasion was a festive event that Jim had organized as Chair of the Institute for Advanced Studies to celebrate Albert O. Hirschman’s 80th birthday. It brought together seventy-eight of Hirschman’s friends, colleagues, and scholars from around the world (including Amartya Sen, Emma Rothschild, Paul Romer, Judith Tendler, Nicoletta Stame, etc.).
I was then serving as Director-General of the World Bank Group’s evaluation function. I presume that I was invited as one of the few senior Bank managers who shared Jim’s admiration for Hirschman with whom I had interacted episodically ever since he had embarked on a world-wide tour of World Bank projects in 19641. The resulting classic (‘Development Projects Observed’) inspired the design of new and more flexible World Bank lending instruments that Maritta Koch-Weser and I put forward when, in the first week of his tenure, Jim asked all Vice Presidents to propose ideas for rejuvenating the Bank.
Unsurprisingly, Jim approved the proposal without any hesitation and he subsequently made personal use of the Learning and Innovation Loan Instrument to short-circuit the bureaucracy and fund initiatives that he held dear and faced internal resistance, e.g. in the cultural heritage and science promotion domains. From Jim’s perspective, they were ‘privileged particles of development’ that were being bypassed by the aid establishment.
Soon thereafter Jim accosted me in the Bank’s garage. He told me that he had just read an Operations Evaluation Department report that disclosed quality assurance problems in project appraisal. He was very agitated and said that since I had identified the problem, I should fix it. I explained that
1 Jim had a picture of Hirschman in his office and he was instrumental in raising funds for an Albert O. Hirschman Professorship at the Princeton School of Social Science first held by Eric S. Maskin in 2000 (who secured a Nobel prize seven years later).
34 | Page it was not within my remit since I reported to the Board – not to management.
Jim’s response was characteristically action-oriented: ‘I do not care who you report to… set up a meeting as soon as possible in my office with all the Vice Presidents who are responsible for this mess’. I did so, the meeting took place, and the result was the creation of a Quality Assurance Group operating at arm’s length from front-line managers.
This said, Jim was never comfortable with the fact that the evaluation function reported to the board of executive directors– not to him. But just as Bob McNamara who brought evaluation into the Bank, Jim respected the function and he made effective use of evaluation products. He asked for one-page summaries of evaluation reports that he used to prod his operational vice-presidents to focus on results. He carried project performance results tables on his field trips to confront the senior country officials who had presided over project implementation failures. He welcomed independent evaluations of his far-reaching initiatives – the Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) program, the Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF) strategy, the unprecedented Anti- Corruption measures he had set in train, etc.
Jim Wolfensohn, an intensely moral person, combined intellectual curiosity, with extraordinary leadership skills and full-fledged commitment to development and organizational learning. Under his watch, the share of Bank interventions that produced satisfactory outcomes improved from two-thirds to four-fifths. Without him, the Bank would have not embarked on the fundamental cultural transformation that was sorely needed to adapt the organization to changing development priorities. It would not have reached out to the civil society and the private sector to promote poverty reduction and address global development challenges. It would not have transcended its narrow focus on macro-economic orthodoxy to become a multidisciplinary platform for development partnerships. The world has lost an exceptional development leader.
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Source of Inspiration by Benoit Millot
I was very sad to hear about Jim Wolfensohn’s death. Over my 30-year span in the Bank, he was the only president whom I came to respect and admire. His amazing mix of “pure” and emotional intelligence made him unique. He embodied vision and passion, giving me –and many, many others- the sense of mission. Direct contacts with him -notably when he was visiting country teams or dropping in a meeting- were unforgettable. His warm and genuine personality, twinned with Elaine’s own interest and positive influence in the field of education, was a driving force for all of us. With his leadership, the Bank changed forever -and for the better. In short, he was a source of inspiration.
Thank you, Jim. If there is a paradise, you should be a special guest there.
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Forever in my Heart by Araceli Tria
Mr. Wolfensohn truly cared so much for the depressed, the underprivileged, and the persons who provided assistance to him and to his office. I was privileged to work for him as a Program Assistant in his office. That gave me the opportunity to meet the real JDW, the human JDW, the warm, caring and generous JDW, the JDW who made me feel important.
Mr. Wolfensohn and his kindhearted wife, Elaine, made sure that we, his support staff, were treated well and even if we made mistakes, he would gently call our attention, but never raised his voice nor embarrassed us. This is just one of the very many beautiful traits of Mr. Wolfensohn which I will cherish. This is the Mr. Wolfensohn I love, the JDW who people came to love and admire, the JDW I will never forget.
To Mr. James Wolfensohn and Mrs. Elaine Wolfensohn – YOU will forever be in my heart.
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A Caring JDW by Joy de Beyer
JDW had the most wonderful way of fully focusing on whoever he was talking with. He made me feel like there was no one more important, no one he'd rather be talking with, in the few seconds of our conversation. I was a young, junior staff member, sent by my Division Chief to a meeting, and JDW had not met me before and wanted to know who I was and where I came from. Most other senior people wouldn't have cared. He did. He seemed to give everyone around him respect and attention - a rare and wonderful thing.
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JDW Speaks from the Heart by Deepa Narayan
I will never forget the day I went to brief Jim on the study my team and I had carried out, called Voices of the Poor in the year 2000He was to address hundreds of critical NGOs who had come from around of the world to launch the findings of the study. I carried a copy of the brief. As I entered his office, he was sitting at a round conference table, chatting with a friend. I introduced myself and told him that I had come to brief him and that we had to go down in 15 minutes to the Preston Auditorium.
He said sure, and I must have spoken for less than a minute, giving him the five key findings from 60,000 interviews with poor people and he said, “that’s fine”. I was startled, not sure what he was saying. So I said, “Should I stop?” He said, “Yes.” So I stopped.
A little later he looked at me and said, “Should we go?” I nodded and walked down with him to a full Preston Auditorium. We went up to the podium, I introduced him, and he spoke eloquently and with feeling for 20 minutes without notes, hitting all the right points. When he finished there was a moment’s silence from the NGO crowd, who had come to change the World Bank ready to believe the worst. People then started clapping.
He looked at me, pleased and asked, “How did I do,” and I said, “You were fantastic”.
Thank you, Jim Wolfensohn, for your vision and for your friendship.
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Music and the Man by Karen Merszei (formerly Broome)
Three memories stand out for me in particular:
1. Seems like so long ago, but I was the Recruitment Manager at the time when I worked closely with Jim on executive recruitment. It was challenging, but Jim was also able to read people well. And he knew what he wanted. Talking him out of a particular hiring decision was not easy, and on one occasion he did confide in me that he had indeed made a big mistake; but I couldn’t tell anyone. He added his mischievous smile when he told me that!
2. When my mom died in 1998, Jim learned about this and sent me a beautiful hand penned note to my home. I will always cherish that gesture and that sentiment.
3. I believe it was Jim’s 70 birthday party - he threw himself a fabulous celebration at the Library of Congress. Only Jim Wolfensohn could play his cello on stage with Yo-Yo Ma; have a reading by Bono and be toasted by Bill Clinton. What a great night! It was such a privilege to be included.
Thanks, and may Jim rest in peace.
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Educating Poor Children by Shanta Devarajan
Of the many memories I have of Jim, one episode captures the essence of the man as a leader and a human being. We had just published the 2004 World Development Report, Making Services Work for Poor People. Among other things, the report had documented the extent of teacher absenteeism in developing countries, suggesting that incentives facing teachers should be altered to increase their presence in classrooms. The teachers' unions went ballistic. A group of them, including Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers, wrote to Jim, complaining about the WDR's "attack on teachers" and demanding to meet with him. Contrary to my advice, Jim agreed to host a lunch with them. The tension in the room was palpable when Jim walked in, sat down, and said, "I have only one objective: to give poor children an education. Now, are you with me or against me?" With those words, Jim turned the conversation around to what we can do, collectively, to help poor children get a quality education. By the end of the lunch, we were exchanging business cards, scheduling future meetings and even planning some joint work.
I was proud to have him as our leader.
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Two Fencers Find Each Other by Carmen Niethammer
Very sad to learn that James Wolfensohn passed away - following his wife Elaine who died recently. Both were huge voices for women and the World Bank's MENA Consultative Council on Gender which I managed.
I loved that we were both fencers and that he encouraged youth to pursue classical music. Thank you JDW and may your memory be a blessing.
Thank you.
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How Jim Wolfensohn Created the Knowledge Bank by Stephen Denning
Jim Wolfensohn had many accomplishments. One achievement that has so far received scant mention in the many tributes is the creation of a knowledge sharing culture in one of the most change-resistant organizations in the world.
In October 1996, at the Annual Meeting of the World Bank in front of around 170 finance ministers and their entourages, Wolfensohn made the bold proposal that the World Bank would be sharing its knowledge with the world: it was to become “the Knowledge Bank.”
The World Bank is staffed with highly educated individuals who over the years had amassed vast experience on what did—or did not—work in accomplishing its mission of poverty reduction. But this experience was mainly lodged in the minds of individual experts. It was thus difficult for other staff to benefit from the knowledge, let alone external clients unless they were getting a loan from the World Bank. Wolfensohn proposed to smash these constraints and make the World Bank’s knowledge systematically available to anyone who needed it, both inside the World Bank and out.
In 1996, with the emergence of the Internet, the idea of knowledge sharing within organizations was just emerging as a hot management topic. Wolfensohn not only immediately embraced the idea: he expanded it to include knowledge sharing beyond the organization’s boundaries with clients and citizens around the world.
In March 1997, this bold vision was formally adopted by the World Bank board of directors as part of a multi-million-dollar strategic compact.
Before Wolfensohn, any such bold initiative at the World Bank would have been reviewed by fifteen different managerial committees, and in due course sliced and diced into something anodyne and incremental.
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Wolfensohn leaped over the bureaucracy, and forged ahead, based on his instinct to grasp the power of a new idea and to pursue it aggressively.
During his tenure, Wolfensohn advanced many initiatives to the point where critics of the Bank accused him of pulling the organization into too many different fields. But without question, he introduced new thinking and new approaches to help solve some of the world’s most dire poverty problems.
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Working with NGOs by Ishrat Husain
I would like to mention one major change that I noticed in the Bank since JDW took over. He turned a highly adversarial and confrontational relationship with the NGOs into a more collaborative and cooperative enterprise. On many occasions when I sat with him in the meetings with NGOs, he listened carefully to their suggestions and asked us to implement some of them with whom he concurred. This empathetic attitude gradually and slowly permeated throughout the Regional and Country Departments and replaced the old paradigm that NGOs were " pain in the neck". We had very few demonstrations against the Bank since then. No causality but crude empiricism.
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Incredible Wisdom by Luigi Passamonti
Of my time as Assistant to JDW (1997-1999), I remember that many colleagues were bewildered that I did not seem too stressed. Some also asked me more directly how I coped with his emotional outbursts. To be truthful, early on in my assignment I decided that I needed to be fully comfortable with JDW's agenda. This I was able to do, most fortunately, which allowed me to fully enjoy my time with him, learning from him the virtues of empathy and strategic thinking. What had impressed me most, over those two years, was that never I witnessed a situation where JDW acted unfairly or unreasonably with either colleagues or outside parties, even when some of them were not happy with his stance. There was an incredible wisdom in JDW's judgement calls - and respect for everybody."
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The World's Banker by Jane Kirby-Zaki
Personally, I was involved in his external relations with Europe and Japan, where he also had a major effect. His legendary travels expanded the external role of a World Bank President - he was the first, for example, to attend a G7 summit with heads of state, and he also met with every possible constituency on his travels, whether Japanese parliamentarians or civil society representatives across many countries. If you can find a copy of the BBC Trust documentary film made of his life as World Bank President, around 1996-97, I recommend the segment where he and President Museveni of Uganda debate financing more roads versus more education. He had big ideas and a big personality. One of his assistants once told me that she had an impossible job - Jim had a dozen or more 30-minute meetings every day, and each meeting required hours of preparation by Bank staff and his immediate office. There were not enough hours in the day, and there was no way to keep up with him. I was invited to his house in Kalorama for dinner along with other colleagues as a thank-you from Mr. and Mrs. Wolfensohn for our work supporting his outreach. He showed me a wonderful collection of ancient glass flasks displayed on beautifully lit shelves - he explained that he would buy them from time to time from a dealer in Jerusalem. His love of art was well known, and part of his collection is still displayed at the Bank's HQ.
I was asked to draft responses to many letters that people all over the world would send him - old friends and clients from the Golden Rolodex who shared information or asked about particular issues - and also people with out-of-the-box ideas like the gentleman who asked the Bank to finance shipwreck recovery for the many Spanish galleons that sank with treasures of gold, and the proceeds would be used for debt reduction and forgiveness for the poorest countries. Whatever official answer was drafted by me would be augmented by him with handwritten notes. He would be consulted on sensitive matters like how to best handle international negotiations on art restitution or Swiss banking secrecy laws as the world continued to grapple with the legacy of the Holocaust. He was passionately committed to peace in the Middle East and was consulted by presidents
47 | Page and leaders for his insights. This work gave me a small insight of what it was like to walk in his shoes - as a wise man, a renaissance man, or as the writer Sebastian Mallaby put it, "The World's Banker."
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Expanding the Bank’s Stakeholders by John Clark
Jim Wolfensohn changed the World Bank in many ways but the one that affected me personally was transforming its engagement with Civil Society – the topic for which I was responsible in the Bank. Before his tenure the relationship was toxic, but his openness and determination to engage sincerely, even (especially!) with its fiercest critics, signalled a new beginning.
This wasn’t about Public Relations, but real change. It was pivotal to so many of the other achievements for which he will be fondly remembered throughout the world: debt relief for poor countries; an unwavering operational focus on poverty reduction; reforming structural adjustment so that it helped, not hurt, the poor; for listening as directly as possible to the poor and opening avenues for their direct participation in operations; and for addressing corruption.
In essence, Jim’s legacy was shifting the mindset of decision-making from a shareholder view of the Bank to a wider stakeholder view. The Bank needed to listen to all the stakeholders affected by its work, and he made sure that it did!
The global team of Civil Society Specialists appointed during Jim’s tenure – most from NGO backgrounds
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Annual Meetings with JDW by Patricia Rojas
I had the opportunity to work at the Annual Meetings in D.C. and overseas, when Mr. Wolfensohn was the President, 1995-2005.
Good memories of a nice Gentleman.
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JDW: A Genuine Mensch by Myra Jacobs
In 2000, I was a Bank spouse, active in the leadership of World Bank Family Network, when we launched a project to better understand and address domestic abuse within the organization's culturally complex community of staff and their families.
Elaine had all along been very engaged with the spouse association, even helping to welcome spouses new to DC at monthly events. Our domestic abuse initiative received a huge boost when the Wolfensohns gave the project their full support, and a starter budget for research. Without that personal endorsement, infusion of funds, and sustained interest, it is doubtful that the project would have been as successful in identifying a range of strategies to combat abuse, or that those strategies would ultimately have been adopted by the organization.
Both Elaine and Jim were passionate about the mission of the Bank. But they were unmatched in the way they demonstrated their genuine concern for the welfare of every individual in our community so everyone felt valued.
In short, Jim Wolfensohn was a real mensch, and Elaine an eshet chayil. May their memories be for a blessing.
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JDW Personal Assistant’s Perspective by Jane Holden
Jim Wolfensohn was different – I have never worked for anyone quite like him. ‘They’ said he was a Renaissance man – someone who excels in many areas. I began to think, maybe ‘they’ were right.
But I only met Jim Wolfensohn after he was chosen to be President of The World Bank in 1995. My assignment before was just after Uzbekistan’s Independence, and in 1992 I went to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where I helped open and set up the new Bank office. I was well into the Uzbekistan assignment when I was invited to interview for, and was subsequently offered, the position to work for the new President, which I accepted. I worked for him for all of his ten years at the Bank as his Personal Assistant.
When JDW moved in and we started working together, I noticed he didn’t use his IN or OUT boxes that we all used to efficiently move papers. Instead, he would leave the papers that needed his attention in piles on his desk, and he would do his business either over the phone or in meetings in his office. I began to realize was a people person - and this is how he did business in New York and how he wanted to do business at the Bank. WE had to adjust. Well, in sorting this all out, the bad news was, his papers ended up on my desk, and the good news: we found another way to move the papers.
Really, from day one, his phone began to ring off the hook with VIPs calling – CEOs, journalists, politicians, religious leaders, folks from the arts world and even some royalty – it indeed proved the rumor of there being a golden rolodex true, and we would sorely need it.
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I heard some say, especially in the early days, that Jim Wolfensohn could be impatient, and I did notice it myself from time to time, but I believe a lot of it was to do with him dealing with the learning curve, and his wanting to get on with the work of the Bank, where he felt there was much to be done.
JDW was a kind man with a generous spirit. In his initial visits to our member countries, it was noticed that he would make countless promises to officials and others along the way, and in order to capture these promises and to be able to deliver on them, I was assigned to accompany him on many of his trips thereafter. His promises could range from say, dinner at the Wolfensohn’s home in Washington D.C., to JDW paying for the elementary and high school education of a young boy whose parents he had met while on a trip (mission) in Central Asia. It was very important to him that we help him keep his word.
He always saw himself as part of the team and wanted to help where he could. In the office he would insist in taking part in lottery pools, often to the tune of $100 - which always puzzle d us – “doesn’t he realize we’ll all leave if we win?” we used to say – but I guess he was wiser than us – the odds of us winning were pretty much nil – and, we guessed he also enjoyed the excitement of the day! Another time I remember is that, upon hearing my husband was invited to Buckingham Palace, JDW immediately sent for his morning suit to lend to him – which actually fit perfectly! - and then proceeded to give him some appropriate advice.
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He was fun to work with too – and he could be mischievous – his Australian/British hu mor made me laugh often and since my husband and I are both from London, and had lived in Whitechapel, East London, where JDW’s family was originally from, I felt we had a similar sense of humor. In the office, it wasn’t unusual to see him do something like getting down on one knee and kissing the back of a visitor’s hand because they had received a promotion since he last saw them. His humor was so often unexpected.
….and these memories and remembrances wouldn’t be complete without a mention of Elaine Wolfensohn, who also passed away earlier this year. To me, she seemed the perfect partner for JDW in so many ways. She was
always so supportive of him in all of his endeavors, she shared his passion for music, and she was wise and a kind and generous person too. Elaine did not interfere but was always there to help with advice in a kind way if it was sought. She was a lot of fun to work and travel with as well – we laughed a lot especially when she would challenge me in fitness exercises after long plane hauls. She definitely was NOT a shopper – she LOVED the work of the World Bank and was always very proud to be associated with it – and she was especially at home in the Education Sector where her own expertise was.
May they both rest in peace.
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Austrian Cookies for Jim but Don’t Tell Elaine by Gerda V. Merwal
While I worked as an assistant to Mr. Shihata, Jim occasionally would walk over to our office. As an Austrian, I always kept a supply of the famous "MozartKugeln", chocolate covered marzipan /nougat pralines, individually wrapped with Mozart's portrait. When I handed some to Jim he smiled and said he wasn't supposed to eat sweets, took them and said, "don't tell Elaine".
Many years later, I attended the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra concert at Carnegie Hall. During the intermission, I went upstairs and saw Jim standing in the reception room all by himself. I walked up to him ad greeted him. “Hi Mr. Wolfensohn”. He smiled and said, Hi Gerda”. I must have remembered the Mozard Kugeln.
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JDW: A True Legend by Vipul Prakash
In early 1998, while IFC Country Manager in the Philippines, I received this call from my director, Javed Hamid. Always calm, but this time he meant business. The IFC top brass had instructed that I should urgently relocate the IFC office from Makati (business district) to co-locate with the World Bank, near the ADB and government offices. Jim Wolfensohn had ordered that all IFC and World Bank offices need to be co-located. We had to be coordinated and present ourselves as 'The World Bank Group.' Jim had recently been on a trip to East Europe and had been very upset (understatement) to see the lack of coordination between the World Bank and IFC.
I somewhat protested since a decision had been taken not that long ago that IFC need not co-locate with the World Bank, given Manila traffic and the need for IFC to be close to private sector clients in Makati. Nevertheless, orders were orders and those days there was some fear of Jim, so I initiated the process. The World Bank Country Director, Vinay Bhargava managed to identify some space for IFC, but the move could not be consummated in time for Jim's visit. However, it was clearly in the process of being set up!
Jim arrived in Manila and thanks to Vinay, had a great visit: tri-sectoral summit, dinner with the President and his cabinet, charming oratory that led to a charmed press, meetings with singing, dancing and adoring staff. This was the aftermath of the Asian crisis but Jim was in good form!
On the last day of Jim's visit, in the World Bank office amid a celebration with staff, he looked me in the eye and asked me or perhaps told me, "You are also located here!" I may have
56 | Page gasped for some air but managed to say, "Not yet,... but we are about to move." I could have finished my response right there! I blurted out, "But honestly, it doesn't make sense, because all our clients are in Makati." It didn't take him a second and he said "Because of the traffic? If it doesn't make sense, you don't have to do it." I must have hugged him!! He called Vinay and said "If you guys are coordinated, there is no need for IFC to move. I will let IFC management know."
He was truly a legend!
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Patron of Cultural Heritage by Peter Dewees
In the various things which I have seen written about Wolfensohn's impact on the Bank, little has been said about his efforts with respect to cultural heritage. I always thought that these things must have been very close to his heart, as he happily championed them despite deep skepticism and pushback within the institution. Sometime in the late 1990s, the Ethiopia/Eritrea Country Director, Oey Meesook, came around my office and asked, if I would manage work on cultural heritage in Eritrea. Wolfensohn had recently met with President Isaias, and they had agreed that the Bank would support the newly independent country's nascent efforts at national identity building through cultural heritage conservation and management. The Bank had few specialists in this area. I was primarily an environmental guy, But I had an abiding passion in design and contemporary architecture, and I liked good museums, and Eritrea had (and needed) both. So I took this on. It turned out that the counterpart with whom I had worked with in the Eritrean Environment Agency had been trained as an Architect at MIT in the 1960s and had worked for many years at UNEP before returning to Asmara after independence. we launched firstly an IDF grant to develop a network of people in Asmara who might be engaged in further work on cultural heritage, and then, eventually, a Learning and Innovation Loan which supported the "Cultural Assets Rehabilitation Project". So it was a good fit. The project succeeded in putting in place a framework for cultural heritage conservation and management, especially in Asmara, and challenged government and the Bank to think how these efforts could contribute to poverty reduction. I have always thought that Jim's unwavering support for trying a few new things out made a lot of sense.
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Charismatic Polymath by Jane Armitage
I was exceptionally fortunate to serve as Jim’s very first special assistant. I will never forget his first day at the Bank – and the whirlwind of energy, new ideas, critical analysis and absolute dedication that shook all of us to the core. Jim’s enormous capacity for innovation and hard work, together with his passion to help the world’s poorest, transformed the Bank. He was an extraordinary person – a brilliant and charismatic polymath with a big heart who inspired all who worked with him.
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Working the Korean Crisis with JDW by Sri-ram Aiyer
I first got to spend time with Jim Wolfensohn on February 7, 1998 when he paid his first visit to Seoul, Korea. I was Country Director, with a team to assist Korea overcome the impact of The Asian Financial Crisis of November 1997.
To overcome the crisis’ impact, the IMF as customary, led the assistance committing up to $21 billion, and the World Bank up to $10 billion. The IMF was responsible for macroeconomic matters while the World Bank worked on financial sector reform, corporate reform, labor markets and social safety nets, and modernization of economic management and institutions.
On arrival, he asked that I ride with him to the Shilla Hotel, to review the status of our work. We had negotiated the Structural Adjustment Loan of $2 billion, a comprehensive and exhaustive list of 29 specific reforms, aimed at preventing a repeat of a crisis. The following day on the way to dinner with Chang-Yuel Lim, Deputy Prime Minister, Jim said twice “you should be very proud of what you have achieved…”.
I informed Jim of our differences with the IMF staff on their two unreasonable conditions—pushing lending interest rates to some 25% pa, supposedly to attract foreign exchange funds that had fled in late 1997 and insisting on a fiscal austerity budget.
Jim then met alone with the Director of the IMF’s Asia Department who was also in Seoul and conveyed our concerns. He used information we had given him that the exorbitant interest rates were forcing some hundreds of small and medium enterprises to shut down every week, leading to enormous jumps in unemployment, causing much hardship. Within a week the Bank of Korea, the central bank began lowering interest rates which soon dropped to single digits.
He also took our position that Korea had always prudently managed its fiscal affairs, to the point that government debt was only some 40% of GDP—unlike many other countries. Three months later, the IMF agreed with the Bank of Korea on a fiscal stimulus.
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These actions by Jim showed his commitment to help Bank staff to get resolution to problems, by taking up our case once we provided him with a rationale, thus helping the World Bank obtain the most desirable outcomes for the country.
During the September 1998 Annual Meetings, I was asked to sit next to Jim for the meeting with Kyu-Sung Lee, Korea’s Minister of Finance and Economy and his delegation. The Minister spoke very positively about the support the Bank team had provided during the year, adding that I had been their ‘teacher’. Jim responded by putting his hand on mine saying ‘he is also my teacher’.
The best leaders like Jim Wolfensohn, trust their followers. It was a distinct honor to have known him and worked under his leadership.
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Larger than Life by Christine Wallich
I remember Jim Wolfensohn with a great deal of fondness and affection at a personal level, and at a professional level, with huge respect for his energy, far-reaching vision and for his ability to implement what he saw as necessary change.
I hope he will be remembered for making the Bank a leader in support to conflict-affected and fragile states. It is taken for granted now, that the Bank should be actively engaged in fragile states, whether Somalia, Sudan, Timor, and the like. But at the time of the Bank’s engagement in Bosnia- Herzegovina, an engagement which began even before the Dayton peace agreement was signed, it was anything but obvious that the institution would get engage.
But thanks to Jim’s strategic vision and leadership, he achieved a turnaround in the authorizing environment, and the World Bank‘s leading role in Bosnian reconstruction went ahead, with the Bank chairing a consortium of 60+ donors — in partnership with the European Union — another first, and raising over $5 billion for Bosnian reconstruction. And, in yet another first, taking a seat at the Dayton peace negotiations and helping put in place the new Bosnian constitution. Never before had the World Bank engaged at this level. Jim’s support - he always had one’s back - as the Bosnia program expanded, was indispensable to its success. It was this experience in Bosnia that laid the foundation for the World Bank‘s later support in a wide range of conflict-affected states, which has in turn become a cornerstone of the Bank’s development work today. It would not have been so without Jim Wolfensohn.
At a personal level, Jim Wolfensohn was a larger than life, inspirational figure to me, and I am deeply saddened by his passing. I will forever be grateful to him for his generosity to me, and for having the privilege of knowing and working with him. It was the highlight of my professional career.
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Look! Look! He’s on the floor! In his suit!! by Diana MacKay
It was the holiday season, December 2001. I worked for David de Ferranti as Special Assistant to the VP, which meant I was often interacting with the President’s Office. The staff there were kind enough to invite me to their holiday party. I had a little baby girl at that time, and I often had her with me. Figuring the party was for the admin staff, not for the executives, I took her along, planning just to drop in. My daughter, Fae, was 8 months old, and she fell asleep on my shoulder just as I arrived. So I put a little blanket on the floor behind one of the chairs in the open space, and lay Fae there to sleep while I stepped across the room to join the ladies for a glass of wine. Some time later, I heard someone say in a hushed tone, “Look! Look! He’s on the floor!” Sure enough, Jim Wolfensohn had come out of his office to say hello to his staff. But apparently having seen the baby on the floor behind the chair, he’d gotten down on the floor, literally, in his suit, flat on the floor, and was laying there with her. The memory is etching in my mind, the President of the World Bank, down on the floor with a baby at the office holiday party. Nobody rushed him, and there was happiness.
I had the good fortune to know Elaine, both of us being Wellesley women. That, and due to the active interest she took in the Bank’s education programs, gave me more opportunity to interact with her. I’m glad – so lucky – that my time at the Bank coincided with the golden days of the Wolfensohn era.
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Clinton on Wolfensohn by Ruth Kagia
In his foreword to the book “Balancing the Development Agenda: The Transformation of the World Bank under James D. Wolfensohn 1995- 2005” former President Bill Clinton aptly captured the essence of Jim Wolfensohn’s legacy in the following quote “As President of the World Bank he challenged the notion of what could be done and focused his leadership on what should be done. …. Jim’s dream of a world free of poverty sparked a ripple of hope which has, in ten short years, set in motion a current that is sweeping across the world offering hope to the world’s poorest people”.
Jim had a rare combination of a first-class brain-- sharp, eclectic, and profoundly prescient –matched by a soft heart that deeply cared for people especially the poor and vulnerable. It is little wonder that he redefined the Bank as one that should stand on two legs, the economic as well as the social leg: A profound transformation.
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Gladiator by Waafas Ofosu-Amaah
The first time I met Jim Wolfensohn up close was when, as a relatively new staff member working on the Bank’s operational policy on gender and development, I went with my Director to brief him on the policy as part of the Bank’s preparations for International Women’s Day. I was nervous, of course, but I thought I had stuck to my script and given all the essentials in the briefing. After I had finished my spiel, he looked me right in the eye and said, with what I thought was a twinkle, “that’s great, but can you put that in simple English?” That broke the ice of course, and we had a good discussion. I observed then that he had a uniquely genuine interest in gender issues in the Bank’s work and was committed to doing what made sense for the organization. And I later found out that his remark about simple language was part of his effort to simplify all the operational policies of the Bank.
The last time I saw Jim was on the sad occasion of my husband’s funeral. Our family was touched that he made the time to be there and to pay a very special tribute to Paatii. Jim and Paatii had worked very closely on many important topics, first in Paatii’s capacity as Deputy General Counsel, then as Vice President and Corporate Secretary. One of these topics was corruption.
As many people have said, Jim was one of the most influential presidents of the World Bank. Together with Elaine, they put what had previously been non-traditional topics firmly and irrevocably on the Bank’s agenda. For that, I am grateful.
Jim, may you and Elaine rest in God’s perfect peace. And may your memories be a blessing.
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When JDW Zoomed in on Technology and never blinked! by Mohamed Muhsin
Jim Wolfensohn was surely a couple of decades ahead of Zoom and Webinars!
Far back in 2003, his compelling vision translated to reality when in his address at the Annual Meetings in Dubai he declared: "We are leveraging technology, with over 100 of our offices now connected by satellite; we do 1,500 videoconferences every month and reach more than 60 countries every day. We are introducing a new 'client card' (Client Connection) which gives policy makers and team leaders the same web-based information we ourselves use to manage, provide financial information, and undertake research on a confidential basis. It’s a powerful tool for implementation, and above all, transparency.”
He then paused, dipped into his pocket and pulled out the Client Connection Card and waved it, for effect. Gerry Rice, his trusted advisor and the first- rate speech writer he was, declared later that the words were inserted by Jim himself and that he waved the card against the advice of Caroline and other front office aides, as it was considered as too much drama! But Jim loved theatrics!
No surprise then that in A Global Life he wrote of this transformation: "The idea was to establish a digital information bank that would grow and service staff members and governments on development practices and experience. We dramatically improved our computer facilities and our means of communication and accessing information. We also linked our offices with videoconferencing facilities.
Jim’s vision in his autobiography was prescient: “the e-revolution will take place and have a significant impact on the developing world. Ultimately the benefits that technology can provide in knowledge and access to the world represents one of the miracles of development in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This needs to be introduced as widely as possible by
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Fittingly, and as an enduring legacy, the Harvard Business Schools’ Case study [Enabling Business Strategy with IT at the World Bank2] captured CEO Wolfensohn’s vision and transformative record using technology. The Case Study was used in many business schools for several years.
When JDW believed in what he set out to do, he never blinked!
2 https://www.mohamedmuhsin.com/wp- content/themes/muhsin/assets/pdf/enabling_business_strategy_with_IT_at_the_world_bank-by- mohamed-muhsin.pdf
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Fighting HIV/AIDS by Debrework Zewdie
Jim became the Bank's president a year after I joined the Bank. This was also a time when the HIV/AIDS epidemic was spreading all over the world and ravaging Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to Jim's coming, the Bank's response to HIV/AIDS was lukewarm at best. Indeed, there was a concerted effort by Bank staff for the Bank to stay away from a highly stigmatized disease of sex workers, drug addicts and homosexuals. There were also others who said this is a health problem and not the Bank's business. For those of us working on HIV/AIDS there was immense pressure from the outside world for the Bank to get engaged and a push from the inside not to get the Bank involved in this. The choice and challenge we had was to find a way of pitching it as a threat to development. Under the leadership of the then Africa VP Callisto Madavo, we prepared a strategy for fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa as a development threat. It did not take long for Jim to stand firmly behind the idea. The same year we developed the strategy, during the Bank and IMF annual meetings Jim held a closed-door meeting with all the Africa delegation, and impressed upon them the seriousness of the epidemic and its impact on reversing development gains. He waved the strategy book at them and said, "until you read this document and have a handle on this epidemic in your countries, I will not be able to discuss development with you". Following that meeting ACTafrica a dedicated unit was established, and we developed a concept paper for the Bank to allocate separate resources above and beyond each country’s quota for HIV/AIDS. In addition, we suggested part of the resources to go directly to NGOs who were leading the charge in the fight against AIDS. We were given the permission to go ahead, developed the Multicountry AIDS Program (MAP). In less than six months the program was developed and
68 | Page approved by the Board. Prior to the MAP, the total funding for HIV/AIDS in Africa was a few million dollars which was not sufficient for any one country to have a nationwide program. Hence the Bank became the first to put the first billion dollars for fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa. In a very short time any African country which had a robust program was provided with funding for a scaled up national program. Jim's effort did not stop there, he instructed all the other regional VPs to develop similar programs. He held monthly meetings with them to discuss and report back what they have achieved. A Global HIV/AIDS Program was established and a Global HIV/AIDS strategy for the Bank was written. For those of us who worked at the Bank during Jim Wolfesohn's tenure, we will always be proud! People infected and affected by the HIV/AIDS all over the world, especially in SSA will also remember him as a life saver. For me personally he was one of the best people I had the privilege of working for and I will forever be grateful. We will all miss you Jim!
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The Knowledge President by Lesley Shneier
I have fond memories of Jim Wolfensohn. He was the first WBG president whom I actually met, and he made a lasting impression on me and influenced my career profoundly. It was in 1996 at the Annual Meetings that he announced that the Bank would harness the power of information technology to collect, capture and share development knowledge with staff, clients and partners. What a challenge! Few of us really knew what that meant - knowledge management, or more appropriately, knowledge sharing, had just begun to be invented. Nonetheless, a small group of us set out to bring his vision to life.
About a year later, much work had taken place to bring IT to country offices, and to develop a knowledge management system - which was the forerunner of the Intranet! In order to communicate what the knowledge bank meant, what it looked like for staff, we organized a “knowledge fair”. On March 31, 1998, the atrium was alive with booths showcasing more than 30 diverse knowledge efforts across the organization, including regions, networks, IT, Legal, IEG and more. Jim Wolfensohn stood on the steps in the atrium which was teaming with staff and senior management. As he started his opening address, he looked around, raised his hands, and said that we had brought his vision of the knowledge bank to life. In what became, to me, the epitome of Jim, he pocketed the talking points I had carefully written for him, took off his glasses and looked at everyone as he talked, so that each of us felt that he was talking to us individually.
Together with his Elaine, and son Adam, he visited every booth, talked to all the staff, and collected all the handouts - and the candy - that was on display. And then he turned to us and asked that we do a similar knowledge fair at the Bank-Fund Annual Meetings (called the Bank-Fund Expo). Jim shared feedback he’d received from someone who said he had learned far more in one hour at the Expo than in 20 years of attending the Annual Meetings!
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On a personal note, Jim gave me my career as a knowledge manager, for which I will be eternally grateful. RIP
Photo above of Jim Wolfensohn making opening remarks at the first Knowledge Fair, 1998 (L-R Seth Kahan, Steve Denning, Mohamed Muhsin, Lesley Shneier and Ariella Freid, kneeling)
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Remarkable Man by Dianne Lust
When joining Mr. Wolfensohn’s staff as Budget Officer, I quickly learned the high standards and expectations required to get the job done. As I came to know more about Mr. Wolfensohn, I realized that he was truly a remarkable man. Someone who was dedicated to a mission, worked hard and expected hard work and dedication from his staff. He was also kind and generous and had a way of letting you know that you were needed and appreciated. He and Mrs. Wolfensohn will be missed.
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Passionate Leader by Ritva Reinikka
One of my two decades working at the World Bank was under Jim Wolfensohn's inspiring and sometimes tumultuous leadership. He opened the Bank up, made it 'multidisciplinary,' and gave staff members like myself space to innovate and expand our horizons. In the 1990s, I worked as a country economist for Uganda, a post-conflict country. Uganda was on the forefront and a kind of testing ground of many of Jim's initiatives. Uganda's Poverty Eradication Action Plan played a part helping poor countries to shift focus to poverty reduction and increase health and education support.
The Uganda team had a Board presentation when Jim Wolfensohn chaired the Board for the very first time in July 1995 -- I always remember how much he was in awe of the beautiful Boardroom and being the new President of the Bank. Thank you for your passionate leadership, JDW!
With my deepest condolences to the Family.
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The “Golden Rolodex” Man by Sarwat Hussain
At its core, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) can be said to be a World Bank creation. Established in 1971, the CGIAR and its network of international agricultural research centers not only helped spark the Green Revolution but also transformed food production in the tropics, marshaling the benefits of modern science in the service of poor farmers.
The Bank is also one of the CGIAR’s staunchest supporters, at the time, providing roughly $50 million a year to its core operating budget, hosting the Executive Secretariat and providing intellectual leadership by nominating a World Bank Vice President to serve as CGIAR Chairman.
In 2001, as part of its reforms, CGIAR decided to transform its Technical Advisory Committee into a more modern Science Council. President Wolfensohn was known to have a “Golden Rolodex,” and the objective of the briefing was to seek his guidance on how the new Science Council could elevate its game, say along the lines of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), a “Nobel Factory” of the day whose investigators frequently garner the world’s top prizes.
The briefing proceeded smoothly, Jim was fully engaged, and then midway, he popped the question: have any of you worked at a CGIAR Center? Somewhat hesitantly, I raised my hand and said I had worked at ICRISAT in Hyderabad, India from age 18. At this point, the tenor of the meeting changed, he grew animated, and with a sparkle in his eyes, leaning back in his swivel chair, he spoke passionately about his travels in Mexico in the 1960s stomping wheat and maize fields, his work with the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, his visit to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in El Batán
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(CIMMYT, one of the earliest flagship Centers that was brought under the CGIAR umbrella), noting that much of what he had learned about development began in Mexico where he saw poverty first-hand.
A few weeks later, I nearly fell off my chair, as I listened to an earnest voice mail message on my desk phone: Sarwat, this is Jim Wolfensohn, I haven’t forgotten our meeting, please call Mary at this number, she will arrange for you to have lunch with Tom Cech who can advise on how to set up a world- class Scientific Council for the CGIAR. Good luck.
Such was the high-carat nature of Jim Wolfensohn’s “Golden Rolodex” of contacts, matched only by his supreme generosity of spirit and willingness to share it for the cause of development.
Jim Wolfensohn has had a profoundly salutary impact on the World Bank and its development paradigm, and has left the world a better place. May his soul rest in peace.
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JDW: “I Love You for Loving Orphans” by Javeline Chansa
My first encounter with Mr. Wolfensohn was in 1999 at my 10- year award ceremony. He quickly asked me where I was from. When I informed him that I was from Zambia, he said that he had probably not met many people from Zambia. I said, “I was the first native Zambian to join the Bank as a regular staff.” Then I informed him that Mr. Stanley Fisher was also from Zambia. I was certain he could see how nervous I was to be taking the photo with him. And he gently reminded me to look at the camera. Which I did. It was a great experience. Not everyone had the opportunity to get the ten- year award with one of the best Presidents.
My second encounter was in 2001 at the HIV/AIDS Day event that was taking place in the current Wolfensohn Atrium. I was managing the staff Association table which was giving information on HIV/AIDS as a volunteer. Upon hearing my story of how I had lost several relatives and friends in Africa to AIDS and the fact that I had adopted some orphans. Unfortunately, I was getting ready to leave the Bank as my budgeting position in the Private Sector (which has moved to IFC) had been abolished. Mr. Wolfensohn immediately turned to the HIV/AIDS Director and asked her to arrange a lunch for me and the children. At the lunch he asked me if I could work on an information packet on HIV/AIDS that he would distribute to staff. Staff Association to put together a desk-to-desk information packet to staff which he sent out to staff. And, of course, he would pay my salary out of his discretionary budget. I could not believe his empathy for a person at his level.
On a third encounter, I was invited to a closed meeting where Mr. Wolfensohn was meeting with the President of Tanzania. After the President of Tanzania talked about the proposed projects and ongoing programs in his country, Mr. Wolfensohn pointed out to the President that he was indeed impressed with all he had said. But, at that time, he felt that any development that Tanzania would accomplish and be proud of was to include the necessary steps in fighting HIV/AIDS.
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My fourth encounter came two years after I retired from the World Bank in 2004. Mr. Wolfensohn started the Development Gateway Foundation to focus on a portal to provide development information. I got a contractual position to assist the CEO. At the first video conference he was holding with the international stakeholders it was not possible to get all of the participants to join the meeting. As the IT staff tried in vain to get everyone on the screen, Mr. Wolfensohn walked out and the meeting had to go on without him. As I had been one of the staff involved in coordinating the conference, I was very sorry about the failures encountered. There was no back up video conference room to host the President’s meetings. After the meeting, I contacted the Information Services Department to prepare an explanation as to what happened. In their response, they copied Mr. Wolfensohn.
I will never forget the day I got a phone call directly from him. “Javeline, this is Jim Wolfensohn.” And, I just almost fell off my chair. And, he said, “I am calling to tell you that I was not upset with you guys. I had another meeting to attend. That’s why I left that meeting”. I didn’t know what to say. Quickly in my mind, I was not sure if he would even remember me. So, I said, “Mr. Wolfensohn, thank you so much for the call. I thought you were upset and walked out. By the way, I am the lady with the orphans.” He laughed and said, “Javeline, I know who you are!” And I love you more for what you do for the orphans.
Finally, during the 2004 Holiday Season, the Development Gateway staff held their Holiday Party at some exotic restaurant in D.C. Mr. Wolfensohn came and stayed for less than five minutes. He just thanked everyone and said, “You guys enjoy yourselves but I cannot stay, I have a meeting with my Rabbi.” Then he passed by me and said, “I am not walking out again!”
Each time I enter the main complex of the World Bank -- I am always, always reminded of Mr. Wolfensohn and what he stood for. I consider myself very fortunate to have worked at the Bank during his time. May his soul rest in peace.
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Supporting the Children by Djordjija Petkoski
Jim’s and Elain’s passion about and support of young people is well captured by the WBI’s Children Look to the Horizon program. Young people, including children, were asked to express their visions of the future through various art forms. Some 25,000 young people, among them refugees and socially disadvantaged youth, from 30 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America took part in the program beginning in 1998. Through their art they took on the role of global citizens, and developed a sense of social responsibility, environmental awareness, ethics, and entrepreneurship. The collaboration with Harvard Business School, under leadership of Prof. Gerald Zaltman, resulted in an exhibition during the World Bank Executive Educational program at Harvard. This exhibit, in addition to other exhibits in Florence, Manila, Oslo, Prague, Skopje, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna, Washington, etc. exposed broad, diverse audiences to economic development issues. With Jim’s and Elain’s encouragement and support, whom I consider not only mentors but friends, I was privileged to design and lead this program.
The legacy is continuing through the Ideas for Action program, the World Bank joint initiative with Zicklin Center at Wharton, under the leadership of Prof. Laufer, in which young people submit their proposals for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. Since its launch in 2014, about 20,000 youth have participated in this program.
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Creating Diversity and Inclusion by Jeand'Arc Lewis
Mr. Wolfensohn was the first World Bank President to actually create the Diversity and Inclusion office at the Bank, and I was one of the original staff in the office.
The attached picture of me and the Wolfensohns was taken in Hong Kong at the Bank-Fund Annual Meeting.
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Special Photos with Jim by Josephine Armar
2000 - Annual Meetings in Prague. This was the “escape from Alcatraz", as I like to put it. There were major and violent protests outside the huge conference center which caused all staff and participants to remain in lockdown for several hours. However, arrangements were made to secretly transport VIPs by a special underground train to their hotels. I happened to be managing the Observers’ Lounge of the Development Committee members, so once I got wind of this “conspiracy”, I gathered my colleagues, decided we were just as important and would follow the leaders. We succeeded in our quest to escape and the first person we saw on the platform waiting for the train to freedom was Mr. Wolfensohn! A colleague and I boldly asked for a picture with him. He was not only gracious enough to oblige, but curious about us, chuckling warmly when we shared our adventure.
Late 1990s - 1st Africa Society Cultural Forum. First meeting, up, close and personal with Mr. Wolfensohn. During this weekend event, Mr. Wolfensohn happened to stop at the same stall where I was shopping with a family friend visiting from Ghana. She asked me if I could use my staff status to request a picture with him as this would make a wonderful souvenir for her. I was a tad nervous for once, but the nerves quickly vanished when he almost read my mind and, seeing the camera appear out of nowhere, offered to take a picture of us, making it easier for me to request the picture with us. He didn’t just scarper
80 | Page afterwards, but rather engaged us in conversation, only to discover that he knew my family friend's father, the late Professor Alex Kwapong.
Wonderful memories - Mr. Wolfensohn made his mark, and these memories will stay with me forever. May his precious soul rest in perfect peace.
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Speaking French (and dancing) in Mali by Chantal Dejou
I will always remember fondly Jim and Elaine’s Wolfensohn ‘s first visit to an African Country, in Mali in 1995.
As soon as he joined the World Bank as our new President, Jim asked to travel right away to Africa, our biggest challenge, in his view! Mali was selected as the first country Jim and Elaine visited and I happened to be their personal assistant for those few days in Mali.
This first trip is an unforgettable memory for me. Jim wanted to do so well, convey his desire to listen, to understand, to start a real dialogue and a great relationship. He kept asking me “how well am I doing?” He was proud to use his French as much as possible and that allowed him to be spontaneous and so genuine with all he met. Elaine’s French was quite good, and Jim managed well too (although his French brought a few occasional discreet smiles to our faces!)
He and Elaine danced to African drums, laughed with our friends from Mali, wore proudly and joyfully African hats and garb to honor their hosts. The Malians were marvelous hosts, and it was a great celebration!
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I remember particularly their visit to a rural village in an area I knew well as I was project manager of several rural development projects. Jim had a talk with the village chief sitting on the ground under the tree. Then both Jim and Elaine were quite touched when they were introduced at the local maternity hut to a newborn girl baptized, in their honor.
Jim and Elaine ‘s humanity, capacity for dialogue, genuine interest in the people they met, at all levels, and their drive to find constructive solutions to their needs, made this first visit an incredible success. We all felt the joy, the hope, the commitment to alleviating poverty and putting a smile on a child’s face!
I remember also very fondly the great teamwork, particularly with Jean- Louis Sarbib, Linda McGinnis and Victoria Kwakwa, to make this first visit to an African country the best success possible. Witnessing first-hand how much Jim and Elaine cared about the Malian people and the development of their country, gave us all a lasting boost of renewed energy, inspiration and pride!
I cherish the few “instamatic” pictures left from the many that I had taken during that trip (Jim delighted in giving them on the spot) – here are a few.
Thank you, Jim and Elaine, I will never forget you!
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Mongolian Memories by Saha Meyanathan
It was in May 2002, a year after I took over as Manager of the Mongolia Country Office that I had to organize the visit by Jim. Jim had somehow met with the then Prime Minister of Mongolia (who subsequently became President of Mongolia) sometime earlier at some international interfaith conference, and who had extended the invitation to Jim. Jim and Elaine flew in from their Pakistan country visit. They were given a rousing welcome by the Mongolian political hierarchy. Every event and site visit including a visit to herder families turned out to be colorful, absorbing and full of Mongolian culture and folklore. Jim and Elaine were fascinated. Jim was presented with a horse, a respectful gift in honor of some dignitary. A special summer celebration called Naadam was especially organized for his visit featuring -horse racing, archery and wrestling. Jim and Elaine thoroughly enjoyed this, with Jim wearing the traditional Deel a one-piece gown like attire which was a gift from Prime Minister Enkhbayar. Given Elaine’s professional interest in education, she went to visit schools, engaged in the educational issues with professionals and took a keen interest in child related issues. All in all, it was a great visit that the Mongolians still talk about, as Jim’s visit was the only visit by a World Bank President to date.
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Best of the Bunch by Elizabeth Colecraft
President Wolfensohn was the best President ever. I have gone through several presidents during the time of working at the World Bank and so I can honestly say that. He cared for staff members and saw to the welfare of staff during his tenure. I am sorry to hear about his passing, but he left a good legacy at the Bank. He will be missed.
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JDW and the MCC by Paul Applegarth Jim and I did not overlap at the Bank, as I left it more than a decade before he joined.
We did not meet until 2004. However, he became a great friend. He was very helpful to the new U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation and to me, when I was starting up MCC. He provided advice, arranged meetings for my team with relevant senior members of Bank management, and was generous with his time. His death, together with those of his wife, Elaine, and of our mutual close friend John McArthur, Dean of Harvard Business School, not long before, has made the past year even more sorrowful.
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