Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

This 71-year-old economist and financing specialist has a wealth of experience. She has twice served as Nigeria's Minister of Finance and was the first woman to hold the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs. She worked at the World Bank for 25 years before becoming its Director-General in 2012. She features on the Forbes list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women (from 2011 to 2023) and was also ranked among the Financial Times' 25 Most Influential Women in 2021, the year she was appointed Director-General of the WTO, the first woman and first African to hold the position. On 29 November 2024, she was reappointed for a second four-year term, which will begin on 1 September. The task ahead looks particularly challenging as Donald Trump takes office in the White House with a radical agenda that is hostile to international trade rules and threatens to impose tariffs across the board.