How Okonjo-Iweala makes TIME’s list of 100 most influential people 2021

*Nigerian-born Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, current Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), has been described as ‘an effective consensus builder and honest broker enjoying the trust and confidence of governments and other stakeholders’

*Achieving (COVID-19) Vaccine equity is a global duty of compassion for one another. Our hope is that guided by strong leaders like Ngozi, we can get there soon ─Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

What will it take to vaccinate the entire global world? It is a combination of unity of purpose, cooperation—and values-based leaders like Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, say Duke and Duchess of Sussex Prince Harry and Meghan.

ConsumerConnect reports Okonjo-Iweala is the only Nigerian on The Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World 2021.

RELATED: Reforms, Accessible COVID-19 Vaccines, Fair Trade Are Top Priorities At WTO ─Okonjo-Iweala

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, who is the current Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) based in Geneva, Switzerland, is on the list of The Time’s 100 Most Influential People this year alongside Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Other notable honourees of the 2021 Time 100 Most Influential People include Naomi Osaka, Britney Spears, Angelique Kidjo, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Kamala Harris, and others.

In the couple’s expressions of eulogy for Okonjo-Iweala, Prince Harry and Meghan, in their recent tribute to the admirable leadership quality of the WTO Chief said hers is “a watershed moment for our global health and well-being, as her (Okonjo-Iweala’s) job affects every person, family and community.”

As the first African and first woman to lead the World Trade Organisation, a 164-member group of countries that oversees trade across the world, it is noted that the Director-General took on the role March 2021 at a watershed moment for the global health and well-being of humans.

RELATED: US Reiterates Support As Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Resumes Office As WTO Chief

It is no wonder, that a recent report also described Okonjo-Iweala as “a firm believer in the power of trade to lift developing countries out of poverty and assist them to achieve robust economic growth and sustainable development.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in their tribute to Okonjo-Iweala further stated: “As we face a constant barrage of vaccine misinformation, bureaucratic slowdowns across both government and industry, and the rise of variants that underscore the urgency of the situation, Okonjo-Iweala has shown us that to end the pandemic, we must work together to equip every nation with equitable vaccine access.

“Our conversations with her have been as informative as they are energising.”

According to Prince Harry and Meghan, despite the challenges, the WTO Chief knows how to get things done, saying, “even between those who don’t always agree—and does so with grace and a smile that warms the coldest of rooms.

“The fragility of our world right now cannot be overstated. Just over a quarter of the nearly 8 billion global population is fully vaccinated.”

READ ALSO Vaccine Equity: Okonjo-Iweala Engages Vaccine Manufacturers, Leaders On Measures To Boost Productions

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also wrote: “Achieving vaccine equity is a global duty of compassion for one another. Our hope is that guided by strong leaders like Ngozi, we can get there soon.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s profile

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a global finance expert, economist and international development professional, is the seventh Director-General of the WTO with over 30 years of experience, working in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America.

She took office March 1, 2021, becoming the first woman and the first African to serve as Director-General of the global trade organisation.

Okonjo-Iweala is the founder of Nigeria’s first ever indigenous opinion-research organisation, NOI-Polls. She also founded the Center for the Study of Economies of Africa (C-SEA), a development research think tank based in Abuja, Nigeria.

She is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Center for Global Development, and also at the Brookings Institution, premier Washington D.C. think-tanks.

Okonjo-Iweala graduated magna cum laude with an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University (1976) and earned a Ph.D. in Regional Economics and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, 1981).

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was formerly Chair of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Since its creation in 2000, Gavi has immunised 760million children globally and saved thirteen million lives.

READ ALSO: World Bank, IMF, WHO, WTO Move To Fast-Track Global Vaccine Access, Inclusive Development

She was previously on the Boards of Standard Chartered PLC and Twitter Inc. She was recently appointed as African Union (AU) Special Envoy to mobilise international financial support for the fight against COVID-19 and WHO Special Envoy for Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator.

Okonjo-Iweala has been described as a skilled negotiator and has brokered numerous agreements which have produced win-win outcomes in negotiations.

She is regarded as an effective consensus builder and honest broker enjoying the trust and confidence of governments and other stakeholders.

Previously, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala twice had served as the Honourable Minister for Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy (2003-2006 and 2011-2015) and briefly acted as Foreign Minister in 2006, the first woman to hold both positions.

The WTO Director-General distinguished herself by carrying out major reforms which improved the effectiveness of these two Ministries and the functioning of the government machinery.

She had a 25-year career at the World Bank as a development economist, rising to the No. 2 position of Managing Director, Operations.

As a development economist and Finance Minister, Okonjo-Iweala steered her country, Nigeria, through various reforms ranging from macroeconomic to trade, financial and real sector issues.

She is a firm believer in the power of trade to lift developing countries out of poverty and assist them to achieve robust economic growth and sustainable development. As Finance Minister, she was involved in trade negotiations with other West African countries and contributed to the overhaul of Nigeria’s trade policy enabling it to enhance its competitiveness.

Okonjo-Iweala is also renowned as the first female and African candidate to contest the Presidency of the World Bank Group in 2012, backed by Africa and major developing countries in the first truly contestable race for the world’s highest development finance post.

As Managing Director of the World Bank, she had oversight responsibility for the World Bank’s $81 billion operational portfolio in Africa, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala spearheaded several World Bank initiatives to assist low-income countries during the 2008-2009 food crisis and later during the financial crisis.

In 2010, she was Chair of the World Bank’s successful drive to raise $49.3 billion in grants and low interest credit for the poorest countries in the world.

While in her home country as the Minister for Finance, she spearheaded negotiations with the Paris Club of Creditors that led to the wiping out of $30 billion of Nigeria’s debt, including the outright cancellation of $18 billion.

In her second term as Finance Minister, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala was responsible for leading reform that enhanced transparency of government accounts and strengthened institutions against corruption, including the implementation of the GIFMS (Government Integrated Financial Management System), the IPPMS (Integrated Personnel and Payroll Management System), and the TSA (Treasury Single Accounts).

Laurels and Recognitions

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala has received honorary degrees from 15 universities worldwide, including from: Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Trinity College (University of Dublin), Amherst College, Colby College, Tel Aviv University, and Northern Caribbean University, Jamaica.

Okonjo-Iweala also has honorary doctorate degrees from a host of Nigerian universities including Abia State University, Delta State University, Oduduwa University, Babcock University, and the Universities of Port Harcourt, Calabar, and Obafemi Awolowo University.

She is the author of numerous articles and several books, including Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons co-authored with Julia Gillard (Penguin Random House, July 2020), Finding A Vaccine is Only the First Step (Foreign Affairs, April 2020), Fighting Corruption is Dangerous: The Story Behind the Headlines (MIT Press, 2018), Reforming the UnReformable: Lessons from Nigeria, (MIT Press, 2012), Mobilizing Finance for Education in the Commonwealth (Commonwealth Education Report 2019), Shine a Light on the Gaps — an essay on financial inclusion for African Small Holder Farmers (Foreign Affairs, 2015), Funding the SDGs: Licit and Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries (Horizons Magazine, 2016), and The Debt Trap in Nigeria: Towards a Sustainable Debt Strategy (Africa World Press, 2003). She also co-authored with Tijan Sallah the book Chinua Achebe: Teacher of Light (Africa World Press, 2003).

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala has been listed as Minister of the Decade, People’s Choice Award by Nigeria’s ThisDay Newspaper (2020), one of Transparency International’s (TI) 8 Female Anti-Corruption Fighters Who Inspire (2019), one of the 50 Greatest World Leaders (Fortune, 2015), the Top 100 Most Influential People in the World (TIME, 2014), the Top 100 Global Thinkers (Foreign Policy, 2011 and 2012), the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the World (Forbes, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014), the Top 3 Most Powerful Women in Africa (Forbes, 2012), the Top 10 Most Influential Women in Africa (Forbes, 2011), the Top 100 Women in the World (The UK Guardian, 2011), the Top 150 Women in the World (Newsweek, 2011), and the Top 100 most inspiring people in the World Delivering for Girls and Women (Women Deliver, 2011).

She has also been listed among 73 “brilliant” business influencers in the world by Condé Nast International.

In 2020, Okonjo-Iweala became an Angelopoulos Global Public Leader at Harvard University Kennedy School.

She was also appointed to the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) for President of South Africa His Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa.

In 2019, Dr Okonjo-Iweala was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2017, she received the Madeleine K. Albright Global Development Award from the Aspen Institute, the Women’s Economic Empowerment Award from WEConnect International, and the Vanguard Award from Howard University.

Further still, she was also conferred High National Honours from the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire and the Republic of Liberia. She is also the recipient of Nigeria’s third highest National Honors Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR), among several other wards and recognitions.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is married to neurosurgeon Dr. Ikemba Iweala, and they have four children and three grandchildren.

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