Congratulations to Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on her appointment as WTO Director General. A historic milestone, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala makes history as the first woman and the first African to lead the WTO.
“Trade is important for the 21st century. It is important for prosperity. It is important for resilience. It is important for sustainable growth”- Ngozi Okonjo-Iwaela, Director General – WTO.
WTO officially announced on Monday, after she remained the only candidate. Her term starts on the 1st of March 2021 to 31 August 2025
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has over 30 years experience as economist and international development expert
She received over fifteen honorary degrees, including from Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Tel Aviv University and Trinity College, Dublin.
She holds a bachelor degree in Economics from Harvard University and PhD in Regional Economics and Development from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
She is the Angelopoulos Global Public Leader for Harvard University Kennedy School, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Madam Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala served twice as Nigeria Finance Minister from 2003-2006, 2011-2015 and once as Foreign Minister – the first woman to hold both positions
She spent 25 years at World Bank where she become Managing Director
Currently, she is the Chair of the Board of Gavi, di Vaccine Alliance and of African Risk Capacity (ARC)
She is the Board member of Standard Chartered PLC and Twitter Inc
Recently was appointed as AU Special Envoy to mobilise international financial support for the fight against COVID-19 and WHO Special Envoy for Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator.
Congratulations Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala!