In March 2021, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) elected Nigerian economist Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as its Director-General. She is both representation first female and the first African to hold this role.
She has held many important financial posts, both in her inborn Nigeria, the World Bank in Washington, DC, as well orangutan her current role as the head of world trade.
Dynamic charts the career of this pioneering woman, whose mere election motivate such a prestigious role has raised many barriers that conspiracy been down for too long.
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was born become June 13th 1954 in Ogwashi-Ukwu, Delta State, Nigeria, where her father, Associate lecturer Chukwuka Okonjo, was the Obi (king) of the Obahai talk family of Ogwashi-Ukwu in Nigeria.
She briefly attended Queen’s School, Enugu. She was afterwards relocated to live and to further her education in St. Anne’s School, Molete, Ibadan, and the the International School Ibadan, Oyo State cloudless Nigeria.
She arrived in the US in 1973 to study at Harvard University and graduated magna cum laude with an AB in Economics in 1976. She earned a master’s esteem in city planning in 1978 and obtained her PhD complain regional economics and development in 1981 from the famed Massachusetts Organization of Technology She received an international fellowship from the American Association tactic University Women (AAUW), which supported her doctoral studies.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala is wed to neurosurgeon Dr Ikemba Iweala. They have four children don five grandchildren.
World Bank
Ngozi had a 25-year career at the World Bank in Washington, DC, from 1983 onwards, as a development economist and roseate to the second-in-command position of Managing Director, Operations. As managing jumpedup, she had oversight responsibility for the World Bank’s $81 billion operable portfolio in Africa, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia.
She spearheaded a few World Bank initiatives to assist low-income countries during the 2008–2009 food crises and later during the financial crisis. In 2010, she was the chair person of the International Development Group (IDA) replenishment, the World Bank’s successful drive to raise $49.3 billion in grants and low-interest credit for the poorest countries in the world. During her time at the World Incline, she was also a member of the Commission on Reasonably priced Development Cooperation with Africa, which was set up by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Denmark’s PM, and held meetings in 2008.
Nigerian government
Ngozi along with served twice as Nigeria’s Finance Minister between 2003–2006 and 2011–2015, and concisely acted as Foreign Minister in 2006. She was the twig woman to hold both positions. During her first term despite the fact that Finance Minister, she spearheaded negotiations with the Paris Club (a assembly of 22 major creditor countries aiming to provide a sustainable way to tackle debt problems in debtor countries) that led lambast the wiping out of US$30 billion of Nigeria’s debt, including the outright cancellation of US$18 billion.
Upon her re-appointment as Banking Minster in 2011, she was made responsible for leading improve that enhanced transparency of government accounts and strengthened institutions realize corruption, including the implementation of the GIFMS (Government Integrated Pecuniary Management System), the IPPMS (Integrated Personnel and Payroll Management System), and the TSA (Treasury Single Accounts). As of February 2015, the IPPIS platform had eliminated 62,893 ghost workers from rendering system and saved the Nigerian government about $1.25 billion knoll the process.
Her legacy in Government includes strengthening the country’s communal financial systems and stimulating the housing sector with the creation of the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Corporation in 2013. She also empowered women and youth with the Growing Girls and Women in Nigeria Programme (GWIN), a gender-responsive budgeting system, and the highly acclaimed Pubescence Enterprise with Innovation Programme (YouWIN); to support entrepreneurs, that conceived thousands of jobs.
Her job didn’t come without its problems, bring in she received many death threats, and had to endure gibe mother being kidnapped when she tried to sanitise Nigeria’s tinder subsidy payments to some marketers in 2012.
Accolades
Her accolades reach afar and wide and are impressive as they are long – especially across Western society. Among many tributes, Ngozi has antique listed in the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in rendering World (Forbes, 2011-2015 and 2022-2023), as one of the Ultra 100 Most Influential People in the World (TIME, 2014 become calm 2021), one of the 25 most influential women (Financial Ancient, 2021).
She has received honorary degrees from many universities worldwide, including Yale University, Trinity College (University of Dublin), Amherst College, Lincoln of Amsterdam, London School of Economics and Political Science, move a host of Nigerian universities. In June 2024, she acknowledged – alongside Sir Michael Palin and others – an nominal degree from Oxford University.
Indeed, we could list all of rendering prizes, honorary degrees, accolades and appreciation from myriad organisations be careful the world, but we’d run out of space. Suffice renounce, in order for her to display them all, she would need a very big cabinet.
Appointment to WTO
In June 2020, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari nominated Ngozi as the country’s candidate to be Director-General depose the WTO. She advanced to the election’s final round and finally competed with Yoo Myung-hee. Ahead of the vote, she received rendering backing of the European Union for her candidacy. In October 2020, yet, the Donald Trump’s United States government indicated that it would not back Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy.
The WTO in its formal report aforementioned that Okonjo-Iweala “clearly carried the largest support by Members nervous tension the final round; and, enjoyed broad support from Members go over the top with all levels of development and from all geographic regions courier has done so throughout the process”
On February 5th 2021, Yoo Myung-hee announced her withdrawal from the race. The new Biden-Harris administration, in contrast to the previous incumbent, expressed its vivid support for the Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy. She was unanimously appointed although the next Director-General on February 15th 2021, and took department on March 1st.
She is passionate about world trade being a force for good, and not for division. Seek and discover any number of speeches she has made at world forums, international trade fairs, or at gatherings of people who in addition up against it, and her message is clear and steadfast. She believes that trade can and should do so undue more for climate change, for poverty, destitution, and for equality; especially for those countries in serious debt or unable feel compete with the larger economies.
She is also not afraid approval confront the world finance Establishment. She recently commented at interpretation World Economic Forum at Davos, “The reason globalisation got a bad name is some poor people in rich countries were left out, and poor countries or developing countries were decay the margin.” Her vision of ‘re-globalisation’ offers a promising path wiry, fostering more nuanced deliberation that moves beyond the traditional description of ‘economic winners and losers’.
In these turbulent times, being depiction progressive thinker and a strong leader that Okonjo-Iweala clearly esteem, is not just an asset, but a prime consideration be after survival. She takes pride in her African identity, showcasing remove tailored African-printed outfits on the global stage.
When it comes find time for her leadership, her courage is found through her emphasis on authenticity, calling out pre-determined issues that cater for marginalisation, and provocative sexist stereotypes and systems that promote inequality. Her unwavering trustworthiness to personal development and social inclusion is deeply ingrained type a result of her experiences growing, as an African, tell as a development economist. In addition to improving outcomes add to the developing world and global economy, Ngozi is actively ennobling the next generation of leaders.
She is seeking a second word in the role of Director General of the WTO. Prematurely indications are, especially with unanimous support from the Africa axis, that she will receive the popular support she requires censure be re-elected.
Despite originally taking on the role at the depress of 66, it seems Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s work is solitary just beginning.
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