GENEVA: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and first African to head the World Trade Organization, is uncontested in seeking another term, the group’s chair announced on Saturday.
The 70-year-old director-general of the WTO — whose first mandate was blocked for months by US president-elect Donald Trump during his first stint in office — announced in September that she was running for a second term.
The WTO chair, Norwegian Ambassador Petter Olberg, told members that “no further nominations for the position” had been received by Friday’s deadline, leaving Okonjo-Iweala as “the only candidate for the role”, according to a statement. Her current term ends in August 2025.
Director-generals are chosen by consensus from the entire 166-member WTO. Okonjo-Iweala, who took over in March 2021, has hinged her leadership on breathing new life into the sclerotic organisation.
The former foreign and finance minister of Nigeria sold herself as someone who can bang heads together and get business done.
Although she had broad support, her first mandate was initially blocked by Trump who favoured a South Korean candidate, a move that was reversed when US President Joe Biden took office.
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