Nigeria’s Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been appointed as the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation.
The official announcement was made by the global trade body via social media, as it tweeted, “BREAKING: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala from Nigeria is appointed as the next WTO Director-General. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala makes history as the first woman and the first African to lead the WTO. Her term starts on the 1st of March 2021.”
BREAKING: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala from Nigeria is appointed as the next WTO Director-General.
Dr. Okonjo-Iweala makes history as the first woman and the first African to lead the WTO.
Her term starts on the 1st of March 2021.
More details soon. #WTODG@NOIweala pic.twitter.com/2RJkkfK2Id
— WTO (@wto) February 15, 2021
66-year-old Okonjo-Iweala, by her appointment, becomes the first woman to ever lead the Switzerland-based institution and the first African citizen to take on the role.
It would be recalled that the Donald Trump administration had preferred South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee, even though Okonjo-Iweala got the nod from the majority of WTO members. The opposition halted the selection process because WTO decisions are made on the basis of a consensus of its members.
