Mr. Klaus Rohland, a German national, is the World Bank's new Country Director for China, Mongolia and Korea in the East Asia and Pacific Region, based in Beijing.

Mr. Rohland joined the World Bank in 1981 as an advisor to the German Executive Director. Since that time, he has held a number of key positions in the World Bank including three Country Director assignments, with the most recent being Country Director for Russia. He has been involved in development work in South America, Eastern Europe, and most importantly in Asia, where he managed the World Bank Program in China in the mid-1990s.

Prior to his present assignment, Mr. Rohland worked as the Bank's Country Director for Russian Federation since April 2007. He worked with the Federal and Regional Governments on a broad range of issues recognizing that the main added value for Russia was on the provision and dissemination of knowledge through advisory services. In close cooperation with the Russian Government, new product lines such as Fee based Advisory Services and subnational lending without Federal Guarantees were developed. Working with Russia as an emerging donor for developing countries across the world was successfully initiated.

He also held the position of Country Director for Vietnam from November 2002 to March 2007. There, Mr. Rohland oversaw the implementation of the World Bank's largest concessional lending program in the world and led a large scale advisory program, inter alia, designed to prepare Vietnam to join the WTO, an event that eventually took place in late 2006.

Between 1985 and 1995, Mr. Rohland worked with the German Government on international development assistance policies and their implementation. While working in Germany, he advised the German Government on development cooperation policy in various capacities in the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Office of the Federal Chancellor.

Klaus Rohland graduated from Marburg University in Germany and holds a degree in law and public administration.

(China Development Gateway February 23, 2010)