Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has emerged as the sole candidate for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General position, paving the way for her second term at the helm of the global trade body. This development follows the close of nominations on November 8, with no other candidates stepping forward to contest the position.
Ambassador Petter Ølberg of Norway, Chair of the WTO General Council, confirmed to members that no additional nominations were received by the deadline. Okonjo-Iweala had earlier expressed her willingness to serve another four-year term in a letter to the Chair on September 16.
The appointment process formally began on October 8, when the WTO opened nominations for the position. This unopposed nomination suggests a smooth transition into her second term, building on her historic first appointment where she became both the first woman and the first African to lead the organization.
Okonjo-Iweala, who previously served as Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, assumed office as the WTO’s seventh Director-General on March 1, 2021. Her current term is set to expire on August 31, 2025.
The WTO, as the sole international organization governing trade rules between nations, plays the role of regulating and facilitating global trade. Its core mission is founded on WTO agreements, which are negotiated and signed by most of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their respective parliaments.
The organization’s fundamental objective, as outlined in its founding agreement, focuses on utilizing trade as a tool to enhance living standards, create quality employment opportunities and promote sustainable development across its member nations.
