Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Becomes First Female Head Of WTO

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: In another breakthrough attainment not only for women but also for Nigeria, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala from Nigeria becomes the first woman and Nigerian to become the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation.

She is all set to head the intergovernmental organization, concerned with the regulation of international trade between nations, after Yoo Myung-hee, the current Minister for Trade of South Korea, pulled out of the race for the position.

The 66-year old Nigerian politician served twice as her country's finance minister. Moreover, she was also the first woman foreign minister of Nigeria. 

On February 5, she secured the support of the USA for the esteemed position. In an official statement released by Office of the United States Trade Representative, it mentioned that the Biden-Harris administration extended their full support to the proficient economist and developmental expert. 

A press release from the office of United States Trade Representative stated, "Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala brings a wealth of knowledge in economics and international diplomacy from her 25 years with the World Bank and two terms as Nigerian Finance Minister. She is widely respected for her effective leadership and has proven her experience in managing a large international organisation with a diverse membership."

Meanwhile, Ngozi thanked India for supporting her candidacy throughout the selection process. She further expressed her interest in working with the Indian ambassador Brajendra Navnit in WTO. 

About Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Okonjo-Iweala spent 25 years at the World Bank as a development economist. She went on to attain the second-ranking position in the institution as the Managing Director of Operations.

She also served two terms as Finance Minister of Nigeria under the Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan. 

Furthermore, she is a part of the boards of numerous national as well as international conventions on finance, trade and economics, such as the Boards of Standard Chartered Bank, Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, the African Risk Capacity and many more.

In 2005, English finance and business magazine Euromoney named her global finance minister of the year.