Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a Nigerian economist and the seventh Director-General of the World Trade Organization. The first woman and first African to lead the WTO, she previously served twice as Nigeria's finance minister and held senior leadership roles at the World Bank.

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About Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Profile information current to 2026-08-22.

Nigeria · Economist, Public official, International organization executive

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Known for: Multilateral trade governance; Public finance and economic policy; International development and debt treatment
Country: Nigeria

Economist
Public official
International organization executive

At a glance

She has led the World Trade Organization since March 2021 and began a second four-year term in September 2025.
She is the first woman and the first African to serve as WTO Director-General.
She served as Nigeria's finance minister from 2003 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2015.
Her 25-year World Bank career included service as Managing Director, Operations.
As finance minister, she headed Nigeria's delegation in the October 2005 Paris Club agreement on comprehensive treatment of the country's debt.

Economic training

Okonjo-Iweala earned an economics degree from Harvard University, graduating magna cum laude, and completed a Ph.D. in Regional Economics and Development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981. Institutional sources disagree on whether her Harvard graduation year was 1976 or 1977, so no exact year is assigned here.

Public service in Nigeria

Okonjo-Iweala served two periods as Nigeria's finance minister, from 2003 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2015, and briefly acted as foreign minister in 2006. During her first finance-minister term, she headed Nigeria's delegation in the Paris Club agreement of 20 October 2005 on comprehensive treatment of the country's debt.

World Bank career

Before leading the WTO, Okonjo-Iweala built a 25-year career at the World Bank. She rose to Managing Director, Operations, serving in that senior role from 2007 until she returned to the Nigerian government in 2011.

Leadership of the World Trade Organization

WTO members selected Okonjo-Iweala by consensus as the organization's seventh Director-General in February 2021, and she took office on 1 March 2021 as the first woman and first African to hold the post. The General Council reappointed her by consensus in November 2024; her second four-year term began on 1 September 2025. As Director-General, she heads the WTO Secretariat.

Timeline

1981 Completed a Ph.D. in Regional Economics and Development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
2003 Began her first term as Nigeria's finance minister.
2005-10-20 Headed Nigeria's delegation for the Paris Club's comprehensive debt-treatment agreement with Nigeria.
2007 Became a Managing Director of the World Bank Group.
2011 Left the World Bank and returned to Nigeria for her second term as finance minister.
2021-02-15 WTO members selected her by consensus as the organization's seventh Director-General.
2021-03-01 Began her first term as WTO Director-General.
2024-11-29 The WTO General Council reappointed her by consensus for a second four-year term.
2025-09-01 Began her second four-year term as WTO Director-General.

Additional verified details

Current context

Okonjo-Iweala is the incumbent Director-General of the World Trade Organization, serving a second four-year term. The WTO states that her second four-year term began on 1 September 2025.
Her current WTO term is scheduled to run through 31 August 2029. This is the stated end date of the four-year term that began on 1 September 2025.
As Director-General, she heads the WTO Secretariat.

Biographical facts

Okonjo-Iweala is the first woman and the first African to serve as Director-General of the World Trade Organization.
She served twice as Nigeria's finance minister, from 2003 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2015.
She briefly acted as Nigeria's foreign minister in 2006.
Before her WTO appointment, she had a 25-year career at the World Bank and rose to Managing Director, Operations.
As Nigeria's finance minister, she headed Nigeria's delegation in the October 2005 Paris Club agreement on comprehensive treatment of Nigeria's debt.
She earned an economics degree from Harvard University, graduating magna cum laude, and completed a Ph.D. in Regional Economics and Development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981.

Connections

Affiliations

Affiliations associated with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

World Trade Organization Director-General 2021-03-01–present
Federal Government of Nigeria Finance Minister 2003–2006
Federal Government of Nigeria Finance Minister 2011–2015
World Bank Group Managing Director, Operations 2007–2011
Federal Government of Nigeria 2003–2006