Regular Board Meeting of Executive Directors September 2003
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The World Bank is governed by 187 member countries who own shares of World Bank stock and thus hold decision-making power. Each member nation appoints a Governor and an Alternate Governor to carry out these responsibilities. The Governors, who are generally Ministers of Finance, meet once a year during the Annual (usually held in September) Meetings which are held in Washington every two consecutive years and in a member country every third year.
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The Governors are responsible for core institutional decisions such as admitting or suspending members; determining the distribution of the World Bank's net income; and reviewing financial statements and budgets.
The responsibility for the oversight of the day-to-day operations of the World Bank rests with a Board of 25 Executive Directors (EDs), who work at the Bank's headquarters in Washington, DC. As provided in the Articles of Agreement, 5 of the 25 EDs are appointed by the member countries having the largest number of shares -- France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States -- while the other 20 EDs are elected by the other member countries through an election process conducted every two years. Several countries have more recently acquired enough shares in order to have single representation on the Bank's Board (e.g. China, Saudi Arabia), while the majority still participate of multi-country chairs.
The EDs normally meet twice a week to oversee the Bank's business, including approving loans and guarantees, new policies, the administrative budget, country assistance strategies, and borrowing and financial decisions. The EDs consider and decide on IBRD loan and guarantee proposals and IDA credit and guarantee proposals made by the President, and they decide on policies that guide the Bank's general operations. They are also responsible for presenting to the Board of Governors, at the Annual Meetings, an audit of accounts, an administrative budget, and an annual report on the Bank's operations and policies as well as other matters.
Board CalendarÂ
Board Calendar Acronyms  Â
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