The Nigerian candidate, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was officially appointed Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), on Monday 15 February.
She succeeds the Brazilian Roberto Azevêdo, who resigned in August 2020.
Okonjo-Iweala's candidacy was blocked in October by the United States, which supported the candidacy of South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee.
After the latter had withdrawn from the race on 5 February (see EUROPE 12652/21), and after the new US president, Joe Biden, had declared his support for the candidacy of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the official nomination could finally take place in Geneva.
The EU widely applauded the appointment. “She will break new ground as the first female and first African to hold this position. [...] the EU now looks forward to working closely with her to drive much-needed reform of the institution”, said EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis. For MEP and Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Trade, Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany), the choice of Ms Okonjo-Iweala represents an opportunity to put all members on an equal footing. “For too long the interests of developing and emerging countries were not taken sufficiently into account by the major powers”, he said.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said her priority was to address the economic and health consequences of the crisis: “I look forward to working with members to shape and implement the policy responses we need to get the global economy going again”.
The new Director General’s mandate will begin on 1 March and end on 31 August 2025. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)