Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala First female Director-General of the World Trade Organization

​Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was appointed as the first female and first African Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). She will take up her post on March 1 and her term until August 31, 2025.
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Director-General of the World Trade Organization
The director-general of the World Trade Organization is the officer of the World Trade Organization (WTO) responsible for supervising and directing the organization's administrative operations. Since the World Trade Organization's decisions are made by member states, through either a Ministerial Conference or through the General Council, the director-general has little power over matters of policy – the role is primarily advisory and managerial in nature. The director-general supervises the WTO secretariat of about 700 staff and is appointed by WTO members for a term of four years.​

About World Trade Organization (WTO)
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade between nations. It officially commenced operations on 1 January 1995, pursuant to the 1994 Marrakesh Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was established in 1948. The WTO is the world's largest international economic organization, with 164 member states representing over 96% of global trade and global GDP.