Who became the WTO’s first woman and first African Director-General in 2021?

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala became the WTO’s first woman and first African Director-General in 2021.

The WTO General Council selected Nigeria’s Okonjo-Iweala as Director-General in February 2021, and she began her four-year term on 1 March 2021. Her appointment was historically significant because every previous WTO Director-General had been a man, and none had been African.

Before leading the WTO, she served twice as Nigeria’s finance minister and briefly as foreign minister. She also held senior positions at the World Bank, including managing director. Her background combined public finance, development policy, and international economic institutions.

The Director-General leads the WTO Secretariat and acts as the organization’s public representative, but does not make decisions for members. WTO decisions remain member-driven, generally through negotiations and consensus. This separation is a common source of confusion when the Director-General is described as the organization’s leader.