Wolfowitz, Paul (1943– )

US academic and Republican politician, head of the World Bank 2005–07. A hawkish international relations expert, as deputy secretary of defence 2001–05 he was a key architect of President George W Bush's assertive neo-conservative foreign policy and one of the architects of the 2003 Iraq War. This, and his lack of experience in economic development issues, made his nomination as president of the World Bank controversial.

When he became president of the World Bank he set out as priorities the improvement of living standards in Sub-Saharan Africa and a drive against corruption in aid programmes and in the governments of recipients. In May 2007 he resigned after a scandal concerning a high-paying promotion within the Bank for his companion.

Born in New York City, he studied mathematics and chemistry at Cornell University. He later earned a doctorate at Yale University on the dangers posed by nuclear proliferation in the Middle East. In the 1970s, he worked for the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, advising on nuclear non-proliferation issues, and at the Pentagon. During the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George H W Bush during the 1980s and early 1990s, he was US ambassador to Indonesia and under-secretary for defence, and played a key role in reshaping US military strategy after the end of the Cold War. From 1993 to 2001 he was dean and professor of international relations at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland. In 1997, along with Republican politicians Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, he founded the neo-conservative think-tank, Project for a New American Century, which aimed for US global leadership through military strength.