Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the World Trade Organization (WTO) chief, was reappointed for a second term on Friday, amid concerns over the potential return of Donald Trump and his opposition to international trade rules
Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman and first African to lead the WTO, was the sole candidate in the race and had been widely expected to secure a second term. The WTO confirmed in a statement that all 166 of its member countries had agreed to her reappointment during a special meeting of the General Council, which was held behind closed doors.
The 70-year-old Nigerian’s new term will run until August 2025. Initially, the appointment process was set to take several months, but with Okonjo-Iweala unchallenged, African nations pushed for a faster timeline to prepare for the WTO’s upcoming ministerial conference in 2026, set to take place in Cameroon.
An unspoken reason for the expedited process, according to Keith Rockwell, a senior fellow at the Hinrich Foundation, was to avoid a repeat of the delays Okonjo-Iweala faced in 2020 when Donald Trump’s administration blocked her appointment for months. Her appointment was only finalized after President Joe Biden took office in 2021.
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