Former Nigeria's finance minister Okonjo-Iweala appointed WTO Director General

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has appointed former Nigeria’s finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the new director-general.

Ngozi now becomes the first woman and also African to lead the Switzerland-based institution.

Her appointment came after the WTO’s special general council meeting on Monday February 15, 2021.

Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy was supported by the US President Joe Biden following the withdrawal of other contender, South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, from the race.

Okonjo-Iweala, who also serves on Twitter’s board of directors, as chair of the GAVI vaccine alliance and as a special envoy for the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 fight, saw her candidacy get a boost when the EU threw its weight behind her.

Even before the Covid-19 crisis hit, the WTO was already grappling with stalled trade talks and struggling to curb tensions between the United States and China.

The global trade body has also faced relentless attacks from Washington, which has crippled the WTO dispute settlement appeal system and threatened to leave the organization altogether.

Okonjo-Iweala said earlier this month that she had broad experience in championing reform and was the right person to help put the WTO back on track.