Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala becomes first woman African to lead WTO

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Nigerian Finance Minister, has been unanimously selected as the 7th head of the World Trade Organisation on February 15. She became the first woman and African Director General of the WTO following the election result. Okonjo-Iweala, whose name was previously rejected by the Trump administration, received majority backing from WTO members, after the defeat of Donald Trump in the United States presidential race three months ago. Taking to Twitter, Okonjo-Iweala thanked WTO members for selecting her and making history as the first woman and first African for the post. Okonjo-Iweala, a Harvard graduate of development economics who has 25-years of experience working at the World Bank, will have to deal with post-Covid 19 pandemic trade rules, counter protectionism, and the current trade conflict between the US and China. “What WTO needs is someone who has the capability to drive reform, who knows trade and who does not want to see business as usual. And that is me,” she said.