WTO Reappoints Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala As Director-General

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and first African to lead the World Trade Organization (WTO), has been officially reappointed for a second term as Director-General.

Okonjo-Iweala was the only candidate in the race, and had been all but assured a second term.

The organisation’s 166 members “today agreed to give incumbent Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala a second term as director-general,” the WTO said in a statement.

The 70-year-old Nigerian’s reappointment was approved by consensus during a special meeting of the organisation’s General Council, held behind closed doors, the WTO said. Her current term ends in August 2025, and the appointment process for the next mandate had initially been scheduled to take months.