Madam, - The news that Paul Wolfowitz, deputy secretary of defence in the Bush administration, has been appointed of head the World Bank ("World Bank approves Bush nominee", April 1st) is deeply disturbing.
Mr Wolfowitz's record in championing an illegal war in Iraq should disqualify him from heading the world's leading instrument for promoting development and poverty reduction. And his lack of experience of development policy, beyond a three-year stint as US ambassador to Suharto's dictatorship in Indonesia, is also reason enough.
The gentleman's agreement between the US and the EU which means that the US picks the head of the World Bank and the Europeans the head of the International Monetary Fund meant that Mr Wolfowitz was the sole nominee.
This shows, once again the stark lack of democracy at the heart of so many of our global institutions, run in the interests of the richest countries.
The poor of the world deserve better than Mr Wolfowitz as head of the World Bank and we all deserve better than the grubby deals which put him there. - Yours, etc.,
MORINA O'NEILL, Neville Road, Dublin 6.