Okonjo-Iweala ready to compete for WTO chief for second term

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Okonjo-Iweala expressed her preparedness to compete for WTO chief for second term for important reasons.

The World Trade Organisation Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has announced her intention to seek another four-year term as head of the trade organisation.

She disclosed this in an interview with Reuters on Monday, stating that she hopes to complete “unfinished business” from her first mandate.

Okonjo-Iweala, who served as Nigeria’s finance minister, took office in March 2021 as the first female and African head of the 30-year-old trade body. Her current term expires on 31 August 2025.

She said, “I would like to be part of this chapter of the WTO story, and I stand ready to compete for the position,” Okonjo-Iweala said, citing a letter she plans to send to the trade body’s main decision-making body.

Officially, she has until the end of November to decide whether to apply again.

However, the African-led initiative to start early, which began in July before U.S. President Joe Biden withdrew from the election campaign, was seen as a move to secure her second term ahead of the U.S. vote in November.

Under WTO consensus rules, this would be possible if no other candidates come forward and all member states support her.

In 2020, the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump blocked her appointment, a move seen by some as an attack on an organisation he had previously described as “horrible.”

She secured U.S. backing when Joe Biden succeeded Trump in 2021.

Asked whether both she and the WTO could be successful if Trump were re-elected, she said: “I don’t focus on that because I have no control.”