First woman at the top: Nigerian becomes new WTO chief

Saturday, February 06, 2021

First woman at the helm
Nigerian becomes the new head of the WTO

The World Trade Organization has been leaderless since August last year. The preferred candidate of most member states failed because of the resistance of the USA under Trump. The new US government has now given the Nigerian Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala the green light.

After the change of government in the USA, Nigerian Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who is experienced on the international stage, prevailed in the race for the head of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The last remaining candidate, South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung Hee, withdrew her application and the government of US President Joe Biden stood behind Okonjo-Iweala on Friday. The change seems as good as sealed, because recently only the former US administration under President Donald Trump had prevented the Nigerian from winning.

The US government is happy to support Okonjo-Iweala, said the office of the trade commissioner. Thanks to her 25 years at the World Bank and her two terms as Nigerian finance minister, the candidate brings great economic expertise and experience in international affairs, it said. The US wants to work with the new WTO leadership to achieve "necessary substantial" reforms of the organization, it said. Okonjo-Iweala immediately thanked the US government on Twitter for their support. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), also based in Geneva, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, congratulated the Nigerian on Twitter. As Director General she will lead the WTO excellently, he wrote.

Okonjo-Iweala is an economist trained at elite US universities. In addition to cabinet posts in Nigeria, Okonjo-Iweala was for a long time at the World Bank, where she was the organization's number two as managing director. She was also temporarily chairwoman of the board of directors of the global vaccine alliance Gavi. Now Okonjo-Iweala is likely to become the first woman to head the WTO.

WTO is in crisis

The organization that oversees the rules for free world trade is currently in the deepest crisis since it was founded in 1995. The differences between the major trading blocs USA, China and the EU as well as between industrialized and developing countries are growing. Under Trump, the US has also blocked the central body for dispute settlement in trade disputes.

The previous WTO Director General Roberto Azevêdo resigned in August 2020, a year before the regular end of his second term, for family reasons, it was said. The 66-year-old Okonjo-Iweala prevailed among several candidates in 163 of the 164 WTO member countries as the successor. The United States, under Trump, was the only country to block a consensus decision in October, relying on the South Korean Yoo. The General Council of WTO Members, which would have to decide on the appointment, will meet at the beginning of March. However, it would also be possible to convene the council earlier.