Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a Nigerian economist, was appointed on Monday as the first woman and the first African to lead the World Trade Organization following an endorsement from President Biden.
The 66-year-old, now the director general of the global agency, will determine the rules and regulations pertaining to the international trade agreements of 164 member nations. Okonjo-Iweala will assume her post in the beginning of March.
Okonjo-Iweala, who said the organization is in need of “wide-ranging reforms,” plans to tackle coronavirus-related economic issues by lifting restrictions on supplies and vaccinations. She also seeks to reform trade disputes after former President Donald Trump gained notoriety for imposing tariffs on China and the European Union to bolster deals that favored the interests of the United States.
“It will not be easy because we also have the issue of lack of trust among members, which has built up over time, not just among the U.S. and China and the U.S. and the EU … but also between developing and developed country members, and we need to work through that,” she said. “All credit to members for electing me and making that history, but the bottom line is that if I want to really make Africa and women proud, I have to produce results, and that’s where my mind is at now.”
The Office of the United States Trade Representative praised Okonjo-Iweala, who has a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in early February and called the new WTO chief “widely respected.”
“Dr. Okonjo-Iweala brings a wealth of knowledge in economics and international diplomacy from her 25 years with the World Bank and two terms as Nigerian Finance Minister. She is widely respected for her effective leadership and has proven experience managing a large international organization with a diverse membership,” the agency wrote in a statement.
Trump’s administration blocked the WTO from appointing new members and judges over the duration of his term and accused the organization of being inept and showing favoritism to China.
“It’s absolutely critical that the United States has the ability to make its own trade policy,” Stephen Vaughn, a partner at King & Spalding and the former top brass at the Office of the United States Trade Representative, said in 2019. “This ability becomes even more important given the challenges that we now face from China.”
South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee, who was running against Okonjo Iweala, withdrew her bid for the spot on Friday.
