The Government has decided to nominate Mr Peter Reith for appointment as an Executive Director at the EBRD in London for a term of three years from 1 August 2003. On the acceptance of this nomination by the members of Australia's constituency at the EBRD, Mr Reith will represent Australia, the Republic of Korea, Egypt and New Zealand.
Australia has been a member of the EBRD since it was established in 1991. The Bank assists the countries of central and eastern Europe in the transition to a market economy by financing projects for banks, industries and businesses and fostering the role of business and the private sector in recipient countries.
The EBRD's Board of Directors is responsible for the direction of the general operations and policies of the Bank. Executive Directors are employees of the EBRD and their salaries and other allowances are met by the Bank.
Mr Reith is qualified in economics and law and was a member of Parliament from 1984 until he retired from Parliament in 2001. He was a Commonwealth Minister from 1996 until 2001. He has been a Visiting Fellow at the Mt Eliza Business School since 2002.
The Government has also decided to nominate Mr Terry O'Brien, a senior official with the Commonwealth Treasury, for appointment as an Alternate Executive Director at the World Bank in Washington for a period of four years, commencing 1 July 2003.
On the acceptance of his nomination, Mr O'Brien will assist the Executive Director in representing a constituency of countries within the World Bank consisting of Australia, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Cambodia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Alternate Executive Directors are employees of the World Bank Group and their salaries and other allowances are met by the Bank.
Mr O'Brien has been the senior Treasury representative in Australia's Delegation to the OECD, and the deputy supporting the Treasurer's participation in the G-20 group of major developing and industrialised economies. He has had extensive recent involvement in the work of the G-20 on globalisation and its effects on developing countries and trends in global poverty and inequality.