World Bank Group Timeline
President James Wolfensohn gives his "Cancer of Corruption" speech
During his address at the 1996 World Bank Group-International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings, World Bank Group President James Wolfensohn publicly addresses corruption as a development issue, a first for a World Bank Group president. He introduces the topic by discussing how the development community “[needs] to address transparency, accountability, and institutional capacity. And let’s not mince words: we need to deal with the cancer of corruption.” President Wolfensohn’s address will become one of the most famous speeches ever given by a World Bank Group president, as the topic of corruption in developing countries had previously been considered taboo by Bank Group leadership and country members. Soon after, Wolfensohn will set up an internal task force, the Corruption Action Plan Working Group, to develop a systematic framework for addressing corruption as a development issue.
Resource Gallery
Summary of the "Transparency International/World Bank Joint Seminar on Strategies for Addressing Corruption"
June 28, 1996
The summary includes presentations from Transparency International (TI), a global organization to stop corruption and provide transparency, and the Bank on their approaches to controlling corruption (1709776).
The C Word: The World Bank's Exposure and How to Address It
Document date: Nov. 8, 1995
This paper acknowledges that corruption is increasingly a key issue in public debate and offers ways it can be addressed through accountability and other measures.
President Wolfensohn at the 1996 Annual Meetings
October 1996
President Wolfensohn speaks at the 1996 Annual Meetings (30022539; Credit: The World Bank).
Interview with Mark Baird
Interview date: May 5 and 6, 2010
On page 50 of the transcript, Baird talks about how Wolfensohn came up with the term "cancer of corruption".
People and Development: Address to the Board of Governors, Washington, DC
Document date: Oct. 1, 1996
President Wolfensohn's annual address to the Board of Governors, outlining the World Bank Group's progress of the past year. The speech includes Wolfensohn's discussion of "the cancer of corruption".
President Wolfensohn's "Cancer of Corruption" speech
Oct. 1, 1996
Clip from President Wolfensohn's address at the 1996 Annual Meeting containing his famous reference to the "cancer of corruption" (duration 3:06; 782I).
Interview with Ismail M. Serageldin
Interview date: Oct. 25 and 26, 2000
Ismail discusses how Wolfensohn championed fighting corruption on page 26 of the transcript.
Report of the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management
Document date: Sept. 30, 1997
The report, titled “Helping Countries Combat Corruption: The Role of the World Bank Group,” argues that corruption in developing countries can be approached within the existing framework for addressing governance issues.
President James D. Wolfensohn
9th World Bank Group President: 1995-2005
