Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

At-a-Glance

Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since March 2021, the first woman and African to lead the organization.
Served two terms as Nigeria's Finance Minister (2003-2006 and 2011-2015) and briefly as Foreign Minister in 2006, the first woman to hold both positions.
Held a 25-year career at the World Bank, rising to Managing Director, Operations, overseeing an $81 billion operational portfolio.
Named Global Finance Minister of the Year by Euromoney in 2005.
Sits on the Board of Standard Chartered PLC and previously served on the Board of Twitter Inc.
Earned an AB in economics from Harvard University (1976) and a PhD in regional economics and development from MIT (1981).

Biography

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a Nigerian economist and international development professional who currently serves as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since March 2021. She is the first woman and the first African to lead the organization. Prior to this, she was the immediate past Chair of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.