Leading western nations on Thursday appeared resigned to accepting Paul Wolfowitz as the next head of the World Bank in spite of varying degrees of irritation expressed privately by European officials.

Acknowledging the doubts, Mr Wolfowitz, who has been a controversial figure as US deputy defence secretary, said: “People who don't know me may not understand why I am so eager to take on this challenge.” The intellectual architect of the US war on Iraq stressed his belief in the World Bank's “noble mission” of fighting poverty, referring to his first-hand experience of the tsunami relief operations in Indonesia and Sri Lanka.