Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, born on June 13, 1954, in Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, Nigeria, is a Nigerian-American economist renowned for her tenure as the seventh Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) starting from 2021. She made history as the first woman and the first African to lead the WTO.
Okonjo-Iweala earned her A.B. degree in Economics from Harvard University in 1976, followed by a Master in City Planning degree (1978) and a Ph.D. in Regional Economics and Development (1981) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her career at the World Bank spanned two significant periods, first as a development economist and later as Managing Director of Operations, where she managed an $81 billion operational portfolio across various regions.
During her tenure as Nigeria’s Finance Minister in 2003–06 and 2011–15, Okonjo-Iweala implemented reforms aimed at reducing corruption and enhancing transparency in public finances. She also briefly served as the country’s Foreign Minister in 2006. In 2012, she contested for the presidency of the World Bank, marking the first contested election for the traditionally American-held position (she became a U.S. citizen in 2019).
In 2020, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari nominated Okonjo-Iweala for the WTO Director-General position. Despite initial challenges, including opposition from the Trump administration in the United States, she eventually gained broad support from WTO members and assumed office in 2021 after receiving endorsement from the Biden administration.
Apart from her WTO role, Okonjo-Iweala has held leadership and advisory roles in numerous international organizations, including GAVI, the African Union, the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, and the International Commission on Financing Global Education. She has been honored with awards and accolades from various institutions worldwide and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019.