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Wolfowitz aide quits in World Bank turmoil
May 7, 2007, 18:00 GMT
Washington - A top aide to embattled World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has handed in his resignation, the bank said Monday.
Strategy director Kevin Kellems, a former spokesman for US Vice President Dick Cheney, came to the bank with Wolfowitz in 2005. He has drawn the ire of bank staffers upset with Wolfowitz's appointments.
Kellems plans to quit next week, a World Bank statement said.
No reason was given, but Wolfowitz's own position is teetering as the bank's board investigates a pay raise and promotion he arranged for his girlfriend who worked at the bank.
European governments including Germany, France and Norway have led public criticism of Wolfowitz, a former US deputy defence secretary who played a major role in planning the war in Iraq.
The power struggle has sowed turmoil and paralysed the bank's work over the past month. The board, which represents the 185 member countries, is also looking into Wolfowitz's choices for senior posts.
These include Kellems and Wolfowitz's counsellor Robin Cleveland, previously a senior official at the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Wolfowitz, who was nominated by US President George W Bush, has denied wrongdoing and insisted he will not quit under an ethics cloud.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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