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Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Nigeria’s amazon moves with renewed mandate on world stage
In contemporary Nigeria, it’s perhaps safe to say Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala is the most popular and influential woman. “It’s difficult to match her intimidating resume”, says Professor Adeagbo Moritiwon, a political scientist.
“One of the finest point of the Obasanjo years is the presence of Iweala in his government, the architect of debt forgiveness, sound and robust economic policies, positive engagement with international financial institutions”, was the submission of Dr. Olufemi Omoyele of the Osun State University.
A couple of weeks ago, Iweala, who is the first African and first woman director general of the World Trade Organization, had her mandate renewed to serve another term. This is clear evidence of her acceptance by Washington, Europe and other powerful blocks.
Iweala’s election as the seventh director general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) from 2021 was a testament to her credentials, capacity and intelligence.
Okonjo-Iweala received an A.B. degree in economics (1976) from Harvard University and a Master in City Planning degree (1978) and a Ph.D in regional economics and development (1981) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She served two tenures at the World Bank, first as a development economist and vice president and corporate secretary of the World Bank Group (1982–2003) and later as managing director of operations (2007–11).
In the latter position, she was responsible for managing an $81 billion operational portfolio in Africa, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia. She also led several World Bank projects to assist poor countries during the global financial crisis of 2007–08 and the world food-price crisis of 2008–09. As Nigeria’s finance minister in 2003–06 and again in 2011–15, Okonjo-Iweala introduced reforms to reduce corruption and increase transparency in public finances.
In 2012, she ran unsuccessfully for the presidency of the World Bank in the first contested election for that position, which is traditionally held by an American (Okonjo-Iweala did not become a U.S. citizen until 2019).
In 2020 the president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, nominated Okonjo-Iweala for the position of director general of the WTO. Although her candidacy was broadly supported among WTO members from all geographic regions, it was effectively blocked by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which preferred the South Korean candidate, Yoo Myung-Hee. The necessary consensus of WTO members was finally achieved in February 2021, when the incoming administration of U.S. President Joe Biden announced its support for Okonjo-Iweala.
Okonjo-Iweala held leadership and advisory positions in scores of international, nongovernmental, and charitable organizations, including the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI); the African Union, as chair of the African Risk Capacity Group—an agency established to help African countries prepare for and respond to extreme weather events and other natural disasters—and as a special envoy to negotiate international financial assistance for combating the COVID-19 pandemic; the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate; the International Commission on Financing Global Education; the Rockefeller Foundation; and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She also served as a senior adviser to Lazard Ltd. and as a board member of Standard Chartered PLC and Twitter.
She was the recipient of a great many awards and honours from international organizations, national governments, charities, and universities around the world. In 2019 she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala has been listed as one of the 50 Greatest World Leaders (Fortune, 2015), the Top 100 Most Influential People in the World (TIME, 2014), the Top 100 Global Thinkers (Foreign Policy, 2011 and 2012), the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the World (Forbes, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014), the Top 3 Most Powerful Women in Africa (Forbes, 2012), the Top 10 Most Influential Women in Africa (Forbes, 2011), the Top 100 Women in the World (The Guardian, 2011), the Top 150 Women in the World (Newsweek, 2011) and the Top 100 most inspiring people in the World Delivering for Girls and Women (Women Deliver, 2011).
She is a member of numerous boards and advisory groups, including the Rockefeller Foundation, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Harvard University, the Oxford University Martin School Advisory Council, Mercy Corps, Women’s World Banking, the World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders Foundation, the International Commission on Financing Global Education and several corporate boards.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is a recipient of Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award (2011), the David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award (2014), the Devex Power with Purpose Award (2016), the Global Fairness Award (2016) and the Columbia University Global Leadership Award (2011), to name a few.
She has received over ten honorary degrees, including from Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University and Trinity College, Dublin..
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Nigeria’s amazon moves with renewed mandate on world stage
Adebayo Obajemu
In contemporary Nigeria, it’s perhaps safe to say Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala is the most popular and influential woman. “It’s difficult to match her intimidating resume”, says Professor Adeagbo Moritiwon, a political scientist.
“One of the finest point of the Obasanjo years is the presence of Iweala in his government, the architect of debt forgiveness, sound and robust economic policies, positive engagement with international financial institutions”, was the submission of Dr. Olufemi Omoyele of the Osun State University.
A couple of weeks ago, Iweala, who is the first African and first woman director general of the World Trade Organization, had her mandate renewed to serve another term. This is clear evidence of her acceptance by Washington, Europe and other powerful blocks.
Iweala’s election as the seventh director general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) from 2021 was a testament to her credentials, capacity and intelligence.
Okonjo-Iweala received an A.B. degree in economics (1976) from Harvard University and a Master in City Planning degree (1978) and a Ph.D in regional economics and development (1981) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She served two tenures at the World Bank, first as a development economist and vice president and corporate secretary of the World Bank Group (1982–2003) and later as managing director of operations (2007–11).
In the latter position, she was responsible for managing an $81 billion operational portfolio in Africa, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia. She also led several World Bank projects to assist poor countries during the global financial crisis of 2007–08 and the world food-price crisis of 2008–09. As Nigeria’s finance minister in 2003–06 and again in 2011–15, Okonjo-Iweala introduced reforms to reduce corruption and increase transparency in public finances.
In 2012, she ran unsuccessfully for the presidency of the World Bank in the first contested election for that position, which is traditionally held by an American (Okonjo-Iweala did not become a U.S. citizen until 2019).
In 2020 the president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, nominated Okonjo-Iweala for the position of director general of the WTO. Although her candidacy was broadly supported among WTO members from all geographic regions, it was effectively blocked by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which preferred the South Korean candidate, Yoo Myung-Hee. The necessary consensus of WTO members was finally achieved in February 2021, when the incoming administration of U.S. President Joe Biden announced its support for Okonjo-Iweala.
Okonjo-Iweala held leadership and advisory positions in scores of international, nongovernmental, and charitable organizations, including the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI); the African Union, as chair of the African Risk Capacity Group—an agency established to help African countries prepare for and respond to extreme weather events and other natural disasters—and as a special envoy to negotiate international financial assistance for combating the COVID-19 pandemic; the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate; the International Commission on Financing Global Education; the Rockefeller Foundation; and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She also served as a senior adviser to Lazard Ltd. and as a board member of Standard Chartered PLC and Twitter.
She was the recipient of a great many awards and honours from international organizations, national governments, charities, and universities around the world. In 2019 she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala has been listed as one of the 50 Greatest World Leaders (Fortune, 2015), the Top 100 Most Influential People in the World (TIME, 2014), the Top 100 Global Thinkers (Foreign Policy, 2011 and 2012), the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the World (Forbes, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014), the Top 3 Most Powerful Women in Africa (Forbes, 2012), the Top 10 Most Influential Women in Africa (Forbes, 2011), the Top 100 Women in the World (The Guardian, 2011), the Top 150 Women in the World (Newsweek, 2011) and the Top 100 most inspiring people in the World Delivering for Girls and Women (Women Deliver, 2011).
She is a member of numerous boards and advisory groups, including the Rockefeller Foundation, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Harvard University, the Oxford University Martin School Advisory Council, Mercy Corps, Women’s World Banking, the World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders Foundation, the International Commission on Financing Global Education and several corporate boards.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is a recipient of Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award (2011), the David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award (2014), the Devex Power with Purpose Award (2016), the Global Fairness Award (2016) and the Columbia University Global Leadership Award (2011), to name a few.
She has received over ten honorary degrees, including from Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University and Trinity College, Dublin.
