The World Bank is like a cooperative, where its 186 member countries are shareholders. The shareholders are represented by a Board of Governors, who are the ultimate policy makers at the World Bank. Generally, the governors are member countries' ministers of finance or ministers of development. They meet once a year at the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund.

Because the governors only meet annually, they delegate specific duties to 24 Executive Directors, who work on-site at the Bank. The five largest shareholders, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States appoint an executive director, while other member countries are represented by 19 executive directors.

• The President of the World Bank, Robert B. Zoellick, chairs meetings of the Boards of Directors and is responsible for overall management of the Bank. By tradition, the Bank president is a U.S. national and is nominated by the United States, the Bank's largest shareholder. The President is elected by the Board of Governors for a five-year, renewable term.
  
• The Executive Directors make up the Boards of Directors of the World Bank. They normally meet at least twice a week to oversee the Bank's business, including approval of loans and guarantees, new policies, the administrative budget, country assistance strategies and borrowing and financial decisions.

The World Bank operates day-to-day under the leadership and direction of the president, management and senior staff, and the vice presidents in charge of regions, sectors, networks and functions.

Vice Presidents are the principal managers at the World Bank. For more information about bank vice presidents, key bank managers and the organization of the Bank, visit:

In addition to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association, three other institutions are closely associated with the World Bank: the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). All five of these institutions together make up the World Bank Group.