Boards of Governors

According to the Bank's Articles of Agreement, all powers of the Bank are vested in the Board of Governors, and as such it is the Bank's senior decision-making body. The Board consists of one Governor and one Alternate Governor appointed by each member country. The office is usually held by the country's minister of finance, governor of its central bank, or a senior official of similar rank. Subject to the decision of their member countries, Governors and Alternates serve for terms of 5 years and can be reappointed.

Governors & Alternates
	IBRD/IDA/IFC Governors & Alternates
	MIGA Governors & Alternates

If the member of the Bank is also a member of IFC or IDA, the appointed Governor and his (the masculine form is used to simplify the text) alternate serve ex-officio as Governor and Alternate on the IFC and IDA Boards of Governors. MIGA Governors and Alternates are appointed separately. In the absence of a contrary designation, Bank Governors and Alternates also serve as representatives of their country and alternates on the Administrative Council of ICSID.

By virtue of a Bank By-Law issued by the Board of Governors, the Board has delegated to the Executive Directors all its powers, except those reserved to it under the Articles of Agreement, or specifically mentioned in the Articles of Agreement as pertaining to the Board of Governors. Powers specifically reserved by the Articles of Agreement are those to admit and suspend members, to increase or decrease the authorized capital stock, to determine the distribution of the net income of the Bank, to decide appeals from interpretations of the Articles of Agreement by the Executive Directors, to make formal comprehensive arrangements to cooperate with other international organizations, to suspend permanently the operations of the Bank. Other matters specifically mentioned in the Articles of Agreement as requiring decision by the Board of Governors are also excluded from the delegation made in the By-Laws. This includes, for instance, increasing the number of elected Executive Directors.

The Board of Governors is also responsible for approving amendments to the Bank's Articles of Agreement. After approval by the Governors, the amendment must be accepted by three-fifths of the members having 85 percent of the total voting power before it becomes effective. Amendments modifying the right to withdraw from the Bank, preemptive rights, or limits on calls on capital must be accepted by all members. The Bank's Articles were amended in 1965 to permit the Bank to make loans to IFC. A second amendment became effective in February 1989. This amendment increased from 80 percent to 85 percent the special majority of the total voting power of members required for acceptance of further amendments of the Articles.

The By-Laws provide a procedure for obtaining a vote without a meeting of the Board of Governors on matters presented to it by the Executive Directors. Many matters, such as the terms of admission of new members and changes in the remuneration of the Executive Directors and the President  are handled by this procedure.