WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush has chosen Robert Zoellick, a former U.S. trade representative, as the new president of the World Bank to replace Paul Wolfowitz, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday.

Bush plans to announce his selection on Wednesday and expects the bank’s board to accept it, the administration official said.

Bush had said he wanted an American to succeed Wolfowitz, despite increasing calls from World Bank member countries and some U.S. lawmakers to throw the process open to a global pool of candidates.

The controversy over Wolfowitz’s authorization of a hefty raise for his companion, Middle East expert Shaha Riza, deepened rifts among bank staff already discontented over his anti-corruption agenda and prompted sharp criticism from shareholder countries.

Wolfowitz also was controversial because of his role as a key architect of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq while serving in Bush’s Defense Department.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson received “positive reactions” from other countries to the choice of Zoellick, the administration official told reporters.

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