
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Born 1954 · Age 71
Nigerian-American economist, former World Bank managing director and two-time Nigerian Finance Minister; appointed Director-General of the World Trade Organization in 2021 — the first woman and first African to hold the role.
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Life & Career Timeline
Birth in Ogwashi-Ukwu, Delta State, Nigeria
Born in Ogwashi-Ukwu; daughter of Professor Chukwuka Okonjo, Obi of the Obahai royal family.
Early schooling (Queen's School, Enugu)
Brief attendance at Queen's School, Enugu (exact dates not specified).
Attended St. Anne's School, Molete, Ibadan
Moved to live and further education at St. Anne's School, Molete, Ibadan (dates not specified).
Attended International School, Ibadan
Attended the International School, Ibadan (dates not specified).
Moved to United States to study at Harvard
Relocated to the U.S. in 1973 to attend Harvard University.
Graduated Harvard University, A.B. in Economics (magna cum laude)
Received A.B. in economics, magna cum laude (class year referenced as 1976 in Wikipedia and 1977 in some bios; primary source lists 1976).
Master's degree in City Planning, MIT
Earned a Master's degree (MCP) in City Planning from MIT.
AAUW international fellowship for doctoral studies
Received support from the American Association of University Women (AAUW) for doctoral studies (approximate timing during PhD period).
PhD in Regional Economics and Development, MIT
Awarded PhD; doctoral thesis titled 'Credit policy, rural financial markets, and Nigeria's agricultural development'.
Joined World Bank as development economist
Began a World Bank career (commonly cited as 1982–2003 for first tour) as a development economist, starting a multi-decade international development career.
Special Assistant to Senior Vice President, Operations (World Bank)
Served as Special Assistant to the Senior Vice President, Operations (role cited for 1989–1991 period).
Director, Institutional Change and Strategy (World Bank)
Served as Director of Institutional Change and Strategy (approximate period 1995–1997).
Worked in East Asia during financial crisis (World Bank)
Served two tours in East Asia (last tour in the period 1997–2000) during the East Asian financial crisis, supporting crisis response.
Director, Operations (Deputy VP) for Middle East Region (World Bank)
Served as Director, Operations (deputy vice-president) for the Middle East region (last tour 2000–2003).
Published 'The Debt Trap in Nigeria'
Co-edited 'The Debt Trap in Nigeria: Towards a Sustainable Debt Strategy' (Africa World Press, 2003).
Published 'Chinua Achebe: Teacher of Light' (co-author/editor)
Co-authored/edited a 2003 book on Chinua Achebe (Africa World Press).
Introduced oil-price based fiscal rule; created Excess Crude Account
Implemented an oil-price based fiscal rule and established the Excess Crude Account to save revenues above a benchmark oil price to reduce volatility.
Appointed Nigeria's Minister of Finance (first term)
Appointed Finance Minister under President Olusegun Obasanjo (term started 15 July 2003).
Chair, World Bank-IMF Development Committee
Served as Chair of the Joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee (2004).
TIME European Heroes Award
Received TIME's European Heroes Award for work on economic reform in Nigeria.
Led Paris Club debt negotiations; $30B wiped out incl. $18B cancelled
Negotiated with the Paris Club to reduce Nigeria's external debt by about US$30 billion, including cancellation of US$18 billion (deal concluded Oct 2005).
Euromoney Global Finance Minister of the Year
Named Global Finance Minister of the Year by Euromoney (2005).
Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Brookings Institution
Served as Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Brookings from Sept 2006 to Nov 2007.
Secured Nigeria's first sovereign credit rating
Instrumental in Nigeria obtaining its first sovereign credit rating (BB−) from Fitch and S&P (2006).
Appointed Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs (brief)
Served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 21 June 2006 to 30 August 2006 (two months).
Oversaw World Bank $81B operational portfolio
As Managing Director, she had oversight responsibility for an $81 billion operational portfolio across multiple regions (2007–2011).
Founded NOI-Polls (Nigeria's first indigenous opinion-research organisation)
Founder of NOI-Polls; the text identifies her as the founder though a founding year is not consistently cited in the provided sources (date here is approximate/low confidence).
TEDx / public speaking (ongoing)
Delivered global talks including TED (2007) and TEDx (2014) on development, trade and corruption.
TED Talk: 'Want to Help Africa? Do Business Here'
Delivered a TED Talk in March 2007 on business opportunities in Africa.
TED Talk: 'Aid versus trade'
Delivered a second TED Talk in June 2007 on aid versus trade.
Returned to World Bank as Managing Director for Operations
Rejoined the World Bank in December 2007 as Managing Director for Operations (No. 2 position).
Chaired IDA replenishment raising $49.3B
In 2010 chaired the International Development Association (IDA) replenishment raising $49.3 billion in grants and low-interest credits for poorest countries.
Appointed to IMF International Monetary and Financial Committee (second stint)
Served on IMF's IMFC again during her second ministerial term (2011–2015).
Re-appointed Nigeria's Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy
Appointed Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy under President Goodluck Jonathan (term started 17 Aug 2011).
Published 'Reforming the Unreformable: Lessons from Nigeria'
Authored book published by MIT Press (2012) detailing reform experiences in Nigeria.
Ran for President of the World Bank
Was a candidate in the 2012 contested World Bank presidential election (first fully contested race).
Political threats and personal risk related to subsidy reforms
Received death threats and her mother was kidnapped in 2012 amid efforts to sanitize fuel subsidy payments in Nigeria.
Established Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Corporation (NMRC)
Instrumental in establishing the NMRC to stimulate Nigeria's housing sector (2013).
Co-chair, Global Commission on the Economy and Climate
Co-chaired the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate with Nicholas Stern and Paul Polman (since at least 2014).
Received Finance Minister of the Year (Africa Investor Magazine)
Recognized as Finance Minister of the Year by Africa Investor Magazine (2014).
Named one of Fortune's 50 Greatest World Leaders
Included in Fortune's 50 Greatest World Leaders list (2015 citation; recognition period span noted in bios).
GDP rebasing — Nigeria becomes Africa's largest economy
Oversaw the National Bureau of Statistics re-basing of GDP in 2014, which resulted in Nigeria emerging as Africa's largest economy.
Founded Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (C-SEA)
Founder of C-SEA, a development research think-tank based in Abuja (founding acknowledged; year not explicitly stated in source — listed here with moderate confidence).
Left Lazard senior advisory role
Served as Senior Advisor to Lazard from 2015 until about 2019 (some bios list 2015–2019 tenure).
Joined Lazard as Senior Advisor
Became a Senior Advisor at investment bank Lazard (tenure cited as 2015–2019).
Left office as Finance Minister (end of second term)
Concluded service as Nigeria's Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy on 29 May 2015.
Member, AIIB International Advisory Panel
Joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank's International Advisory Panel (since 2016).
Appointed Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Board Chair)
Became Chair of Gavi's Board in 2016 and served through 2020, overseeing vaccine alliance governance during critical years.
Global Fairness Award & Power with Purpose Award
Received Global Fairness Award (Global Fairness Initiative) and Power with Purpose Award (Devex) for contributions to sustainable development (2016).
Member, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) International Advisory Board
Joined JICA's International Advisory Board (first meeting referenced 2017).
Joined Standard Chartered PLC Board as Independent Non-executive Director
Appointed to the board of Standard Chartered (service noted as beginning in 2017).
Madeleine K. Albright Global Development Award
Received the Madeleine K. Albright Global Development Award from the Aspen Institute (2017).
Published 'Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous'
Published book 'Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous: The Story Behind the Headlines' (MIT Press, 2018).
Appointed to Twitter Board of Directors
Joined Twitter's board (appointment announced 19 July 2018).
Joined World Economic Forum and other international advisory boards (ongoing)
Served on many boards/advisory councils including Rockefeller Foundation, Carnegie Endowment, One Campaign, Mercy Corps, and others across 2014–2021.
Joined Bloomberg New Economy Forum Advisory Board
Named to the advisory board of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum (since 2018).
Became U.S. citizen
Acquired United States citizenship in 2019 after decades living and working in the U.S.
Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2019).
EU endorses WTO candidacy; U.S. initially withholds support
European Union publicly backed her WTO candidacy (Oct 2020); the Trump administration indicated it would not back her in Oct 2020.
Co-founder / early architect of COVAX Facility
Cited as one of the founders of the COVAX Facility to get affordable vaccines to low- and middle-income countries (2020 pandemic response).
WHO Special Envoy for Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator
Named WHO Special Envoy for the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (2020).
Co-authored 'Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons'
Contributed a chapter/sections and co-authored with Julia Gillard; book published by Penguin in 2020.
Appointed AU Special Envoy for COVID-19 economic support
Appointed by the African Union to solicit international financial support for Africa to address the economic impact of COVID-19 (2020).
Named Forbes Africa 'African of the Year'
Recognized as African of the Year by Forbes Africa (2020).
Nominated by Nigeria as candidate for WTO Director-General
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari nominated Okonjo-Iweala as Nigeria's candidate for WTO Director-General (June 2020).
Stepped down from Twitter board
Stepped down from Twitter Board of Directors effective 28 February 2021 in connection with appointment as WTO Director-General.
Listed among Financial Times' 25 Most Influential Women
Included in Financial Times' list of 25 most influential women (2021).
Appointed Co-chair of G20 HLIP on financing global commons for pandemic preparedness
Named co-chair alongside Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Lawrence Summers of the G20 High Level Independent Panel (HLIP) on financing the global commons for pandemic preparedness (early 2021).
Named TIME 100 Most Influential People (2021 list)
Listed among TIME's Top 100 Most Influential People in 2021 (also listed earlier in 2014).
U.S. announces support; rival Yoo withdraws
On 5 Feb 2021 Yoo Myung-hee withdrew; the Biden administration announced strong support for Okonjo-Iweala's WTO candidacy.
Unanimously appointed Director‑General of the WTO
WTO Members unanimously appointed Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Director-General on 15 February 2021 — first woman and first African in the role.
Assumed office as WTO Director-General
Began her term as the seventh Director-General of the World Trade Organization on 1 March 2021.
Joined Multilateral Leaders Task Force on COVID-19 Vaccines, Therapeutics, Diagnostics
Joined task force co-chaired by Tedros Adhanom and David Malpass to focus on developing country access (July 2021).
Awarded Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON)
Conferred Nigeria's second highest national honour, Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON, 2022).
Humanitarian Award for a Lifetime of Public Service (United Nations Association of New York)
Received a lifetime humanitarian award recognizing public service and advocacy (2022).
Joined Group of Thirty (G30)
Became a member of The Group of Thirty (G30), an independent body of leading finance policymakers (Jan 2022).
Carnegie Corporation of New York's Great Immigrant Award
Honored with the Carnegie Corporation of New York's Great Immigrant Award (2023).
Received Grand Cross of the Order of Rio Branco (Brazil)
Conferred the Grand Cross of the Order of Rio Branco by the Federative Republic of Brazil (2023).
Honorary degree from the University of Oxford
Received an honorary degree from the University of Oxford (June 2024).
Reappointed WTO Director-General for second term
WTO reappointed Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Director-General on 29 November 2024; second four-year term to begin 1 September 2025.
Key Achievement Ages
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