In the afternoon of 15 February in Geneva, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Finance Minister of Nigeria, was confirmed as the new Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Being elected from eight candidates, Madam Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala becomes the first woman and the first African to lead the global trade body. Her term, renewable, will start from 1 March 2021 and expire on 31 August 2025. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was invited to become a member of the Tsinghua SPPM Global Advisory Board (GAB) in 2019. Zhou Xiaochuan, SPPM GAB Co-Chair (China), and Jiang Xiaojuan, Dean of SPPM, extended their warmest congratulations on her appointment after hearing the great news.
On November 1, 2019, the Tsinghua SPPM Global Advisory Board (GAB) Inaugural Meeting and the first GAB meeting was held in Tsinghua University. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chair of the Board of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, former Finance Minister and Foreign Minister of Nigeria, and former Managing Director of the World Bank was invited to become a member of the GAB and attended the first GAB meeting. During the meeting, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as well as other GAB members, suggested promoting the reform and development of public governance by establishing a mechanism with diversified participants, especially private sectors and NGOs, to promote governance research and cooperation in the internet and digital age and revitalize the credibility of the public sector. It is hoped that the research of Tsinghua SPPM will devote itself to promoting good practice and serving the progress of global governance.
(Jiang Xiaojuan, Dean of Tsinghua SPPM, awarded Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala a letter of appointment)
On November 2, 2019, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala chaired the keynote session of the Forum on Global S&T Development and Governance. The Forum was held by Tsinghua University, sponsored by the China Association for Science and Technology, organized by the School of Public Policy & Management of Tsinghua University, and supported by the Center for Science and Technology Development & Governance of Tsinghua University.
(Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala chaired the keynote session at the Forum on Global S&T Development and Governance)
Warmest congratulations to Tsinghua SPPM GAB Member Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on her appointment as the new Director-General of the WTO. Tsinghua SPPM will cooperate closely with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and step up efforts to make itself a world-class school of public management and make new contributions to the greater well-being and progress of the mankind.
Biography of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala：
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is an economist and international development expert with over 30 years experience. She is the Chair of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and of African Risk Capacity (ARC). She was invited to become a member of the Tsinghua SPPM Global Advisory Board (GAB) in November 2019. She was appointed as the next Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 15 February 2021.
Previously, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala served twice as Nigeria’s Finance Minister, from 2003-2006, 2011-2015, and briefly as Foreign Minister, the first woman to hold both positions. She spent a 25-year career at the World Bank as a development economist, rising to the No.2 position of Managing Director, overseeing an $81 billion operational portfolio in Africa, South Asia, Europe and Central Asia.
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala graduated magna cum laude with an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University in 1976 and earned a Ph.D. in Regional Economics and Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1981.
Editors: Li Han, John Olbrich
