David Malpas, senior official at the US Treasury Department, was unanimously elected as World Bank president on Friday.
According to a statement issued by the Foundation, the selection of the board of directors of Malabas was followed by an "open and transparent" candidacy process for which citizens of all member countries had the right to participate.
Malpas was the only candidate for the post. He is currently Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, advising the campaign of President Donald Trump in the 2016 election.
His candidacy earlier this year by Trump drew widespread criticism from those who saw it as an abuse of the task of the world's largest lender to combat poverty.
Malpas, 63, has long criticized global financial institutions, describing their practices as "corrupt" and ineffective, pointing out that they are too generous with China.
A Malbas spokesman said Malpas would begin his new job next week during the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Since the founding of the World Bank in the wake of the Second World War, all its presidents have been Americans under a common principle followed by a similar tradition giving Europe the equally important IMF presidency.