Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala GCON
Okonjo-Iweala in 2021

7th Director-General of the World Trade Organization
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 March 2021
Preceded by	Roberto Azevêdo
Minister of Finance
In office 17 August 2011 – 29 May 2015
President	Goodluck Jonathan
Preceded by	Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga
Succeeded by	Kemi Adeosun
In office 15 July 2003 – 21 June 2006
President	Olusegun Obasanjo
Preceded by	Adamu Ciroma
Succeeded by	Nenadi Usman
Coordinating Minister for the Economy
In office 17 August 2011 – 29 May 2015
President	Goodluck Jonathan
Preceded by	Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 21 June 2006 – 30 August 2006
President	Olusegun Obasanjo
Preceded by	Oluyemi Adeniji
Succeeded by	Joy Ogwu

Personal details
Born	(1954-06-13) 13 June 1954 (age 71) Ogwashi Ukwu, Nigeria
Citizenship	Nigeria (1954–present) United States (2019–present)
Spouse	Ikemba Iweala
Children	4, including Uzodinma
Education	Harvard University (BA) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA, PhD)

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (born 13 June 1954) is a very important Nigerian economist. She is currently the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since March 2021. This is a big deal because she is the first woman and the first person from Africa to lead the WTO.

Before this, she was on the boards of many big companies and organizations. She also worked for the World Bank for 25 years. There, she helped countries develop their economies. She was also Nigeria's Finance Minister twice and even served briefly as the Minister for Foreign Affairs. In 2005, she was named the Euromoney Global Finance Minister of the Year.

Early Life and Education
A Career in Global Development
Personal Life
Other Activities
Recognition and Awards
- Honorary Degrees
Gallery
See also

Early Life and Education

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was born in Ogwashi-Ukwu, Delta State, Nigeria. Her father, Professor Chukwuka Okonjo, was the traditional ruler (Obi) of the Obahai royal family in Ogwashi-Ukwu.

She went to schools in Nigeria, including Queen's School, Enugu, and St. Anne's School, Ibadan. In 1973, she moved to the United States to study at Harvard University. She earned a degree in Economics in 1976. Later, she got her master's degree in city planning in 1978. In 1981, she earned her PhD in regional economics and development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Her PhD research focused on how credit policy and financial markets affect farming in Nigeria.

A Career in Global Development

Working at the World Bank

Okonjo-Iweala at a meeting in 2004.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala worked for 25 years at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. She started as a development economist. She rose to a very high position, becoming the Managing Director for Operations. In this role, she was in charge of the World Bank's projects worth $81 billion in different parts of the world, including Africa, South Asia, Europe, and Central Asia.

She led many World Bank projects to help countries with low incomes. This included helping them during the food crises in 2008–2009 and the financial crisis that followed. In 2010, she helped raise $49.3 billion for the poorest countries in the world.

Serving in Nigerian Government

Okonjo-Iweala served as Nigeria's Finance Minister two times. Her first term was from 2003 to 2006, and her second was from 2011 to 2015. She was the first woman to hold this important position. For a short time in 2006, she also served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

First Term as Finance Minister

During her first time as Finance Minister, she helped Nigeria get rid of a huge debt of US$30 billion. This was done through talks with a group called the Paris Club. She also worked to improve Nigeria's economy by saving extra money when oil prices were high. This helped make the economy more stable.

She also helped Nigeria get its first ever sovereign credit rating from big rating agencies like Fitch Ratings. This showed that Nigeria was a reliable country for investments. To make things more open, she started publishing how much money each level of government received from the country's funds. This helped people see how money was being used.

Okonjo-Iweala in 2008.

Second Term as Finance Minister

In 2011, she was asked to be the Finance Minister again. This time, she also became the Coordinating Minister for the Economy. In this role, she led efforts to make government spending more transparent and fight corruption. She introduced systems that helped remove "ghost workers" (people who were paid but didn't exist) from the government payroll. This saved a lot of money.

She also helped create the Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Corporation (NMRC) to boost the housing sector. Under her leadership, Nigeria's GDP was re-calculated. This showed that Nigeria had become the largest economy in Africa. She also started programs like "Growing Girls and Women in Nigeria" and "Youth Enterprise with Innovation Programme" (YouWIN!) to help women and young people. These programs supported entrepreneurs and created many jobs.

Later Career and WTO Leadership

After leaving government, Okonjo-Iweala continued to work on important global issues. She was part of several international groups focusing on education, global finance, and climate change. She also chaired the board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which helps get vaccines to people around the world.

She founded NOI-Polls, Nigeria's first local opinion research group. She also started the Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa (C-SEA), a research center in Abuja.

In 2020, the President of Nigeria nominated her to be the director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO). She competed against other candidates and received strong support from many countries. In February 2021, she was officially appointed as the next Director-General. She started her work at the WTO on 1 March 2021. In November 2024, she was reappointed for a second term.

She has also been involved in efforts to help countries deal with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. She helped create the COVAX Facility, which aims to provide affordable vaccines to countries with lower incomes.

Personal Life

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is married to Ikemba Iweala, who is a neurosurgeon. They have four children, including the author Uzodinma Iweala.

It was shared that she became a US citizen in 2019. She has spent many years working and studying in the United States.

Other Activities

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has been involved in many other important organizations and boards. These include:

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance
African Development Bank (AfDB)
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Danone (a food company)
Twitter (a social media company)
Standard Chartered (a bank)
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Rockefeller Foundation
One Campaign

Recognition and Awards

Okonjo-Iweala has received many awards and honors for her work. She has been recognized by major magazines like Fortune and TIME as one of the world's greatest leaders and most influential people. Forbes has also listed her among the most powerful women in the world many times.

She has received high national honors from countries like Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria, and Brazil. Some of her other awards include: