NIGERIA’S former Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, could win her second term as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on November 29, 2024.
She will remain the first woman and African to become the WTO Director-General even if she does not get her second tenure – which is now unlikely. Okonjo-Iweala was appointed as WTO director-general on February 15, 2021, and will serve out her first tenure on August 31, 2024.
The WTO began preparations to fill its director-general position on October 8 and said nominations would contnue till November 8.
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At the end of November 8, only Dr Okonjo-Iweala indicated interest in the position. Nigeria’s former Finance Minister confirmed her willingness to serve a second four-year term on September 16, according to the WTO.
The chair of the WTO’s General Council, Petter Ølberg, in a message to members, confirmed that no additional nominations were received by the November 8 deadline.
The statement read, “Under the procedures for the appointment of Directors-General (WT/L/509), I am required to communicate to members a consolidated list of candidates received for the post of Director-General immediately after the close of the nomination period, in this case 8 November 2024.
“I would like to advise members that at the end of the nomination period, the only candidacy received for this post is from Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the incumbent director-general.”
According to a new statement seen on the WTO website on November 13, the decision to give Dr Okonjo-Iweala the second tenure could be made on November 30.
“Ambassador Ølberg said that, based on his contacts with delegations over the past days, and as has been done in past instances where the incumbent Director-General was the only candidate, he intends to convene a special formal meeting of the General Council on 28 and 29 November,” the statement said.
“The first day of the General Council meeting would allow members to hear a presentation from DG Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on her vision for the WTO, followed by a question-and-answer session, the Chair said. The second day could then provide an opportunity for members to take a decision on the appointment of the next Director-General,” the WTO noted.
Trump’s Earlier interference
Mr Donald Trump, who will become United States President in early 2025, did not back Dr Okonjo-Iweala for the position during his first tenure.
Quartz reported on October 28, 2020, that United States’ White House would not back Dr Iweala for the WTO position.
“Despite being widely seen as the front-runner for the role and having won a raft of high-level endorsements—including from the European Union and key stakeholders within WTO itself, Okonjo-Iweala’s potential appointment is currently being vetoed by opposition from the Trump administration.
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“High-level US trade representatives say the country will not back Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy, citing displeasure with how the selection process has been carried out, Bloomberg reports. The US stance represents a major complication given decisions at the 164-member global trade body are typically based on a consensus. Okonjo-Iweala’s sole opponent for WTO director-general is South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee, who was the country’s first female trade minister,” the newspaper said.
However, Dr Okonjo-Iweala later won the position without Mr Trump, who later lost the November 2020 election to President Joe Biden.
In Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s biography, the WTO said, “She is a global finance expert, an economist and international development professional with over 40 years of experience working in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America. Dr Okonjo-Iweala was formerly Chair of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. She was previously on the Boards of Standard Chartered PLC and Twitter Inc. She was appointed as African Union (AU) Special Envoy to mobilise international financial support for the fight against COVID-19 and WHO Special Envoy for Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator. She is a skilled negotiator and has brokered numerous agreements which have produced win-win outcomes in negotiations. She is regarded as an effective consensus builder and an honest broker enjoying the trust and confidence of governments and other stakeholders.”
