Okonjo-Iweala emerges as sole candidate for WTO Director-General role.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria has emerged as the single contender for the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) director-general position.

According to the WTO, the former Nigerian finance minister has accepted to serve a second term as the organization’s head.

On Saturday, the WTO issued a statement recognising Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the single candidate.

“On November 9, Ambassador Petter Ølberg of Norway, Chair of the General Council, informed WTO members that no further nominations for the position of Director-General had been received by the deadline of 8 November, and that the incumbent Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is therefore the only candidate for the role.”

“On September 16, Director-General Okonjo-Iweala indicated in a letter to the Chair her desire to serve a second four-year term in the post. On October 8, the WTO formally began the process of appointing its next Director-General, giving members until November 8 to submit nominations.

The WTO stated that the chair of the General Council will announce the next steps in the process in the coming days.

According to the WTO’s “Procedures for the Appointment of Directors-General,” the procedure was managed by the General Council Chair.

Okonjo-Iweala’s current term concludes on August 31, 2025.

On February 15, 2021, the former minister was appointed WTO director-general, becoming the trade organization’s first female and African leader.

After being confirmed as WTO DG in 2021, she prioritised resurrecting the WTO’s appellate body and advancing long-stalled trade talks on fishing subsidies.

Okonjo-Iweala, who served as Nigeria’s finance minister twice (2003-2006 and 2011-2015) and as the country’s first female foreign minister for two months in 2006, is regarded as a trailblazer in her home country.

The Delta native also dismissed allegations that she lacked expertise as a trade minister or negotiator.