White House to quickly replace World Bank president

The White House today said it will move quickly to find a successor - preferably an American – for departing World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz as the administration sought to rebuild relationships strained by the controversy.

Wolfowitz a day earlier announced that he would step down at the end of June, his leadership undermined by a furore over compensation he arranged in 2005 for Shaha Riza, a bank employee and girlfriend.