Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a Nigerian-American economist and international development expert, she was born on 13 June 1954 in Ogwashi Uku, Delta State, Nigeria, to Professor Chukwuka Okonjo, who was the Obi (King) from Obahai Royal Family of Ogwashi-Ukwu.
Okonjo-Iweala has served in numerous public offices, both locally and internationally, she served as
Minister of finance twice in Nigeria. On 15 February 2021, she was appointed as the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, and her term will begin on 1 March 2021, Okonjo-Iweala is the first woman and the first African to hold the office.
Early Life And Education
Okonjo-Iweala was born in Ogwashi Uku, Delta State, Nigeria. She attended Queen’s School, Enugu, before she moved to Oyo State, where she attends
St. Anne’s School, Molete , Ibadan, and the International School Ibadan, Oyo State Nigeria.
Okonjo-Iweala travelled to United States in 1973 to study at Harvard University, and graduated with an AB in Economics in 1976. before she got her PhD in regional economics and development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology United States in 1981.
Marriage
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was married to Ikemba Iweala, who is a neurosurgeon, they are blessed with four children. According to SaharaReporters, on January 22, 2007, Okonjo-Iweala’shusband Dr. Ikemba Iweala was caught with his pants down with a young female nursing student named “Queen Nwoye” who was aged 28 years old as at that moment. According to the report, Queens Nwoye’s boyfriend Adriane Osuagwu exploited the extramarital affair for almost $200,000.00 from Dr. Ikemba Iweala to keep the affairs from his wife, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the rest of the world.
Queen Nwoye landed in juror, after she accused of helping her new boyfriend “Adriane Osuagwu” to extort money from Dr. Ikemba Iweala after her affair with Dr. Ikemba had ended.
Dr. Ikemba Iweala and Queen Nwoye have started their having the affair since 2002 and supposedly to end in 2003, but turned into “social friends”.
Career
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala started her career at the World Bank, where she spent 25 year as a development economist, and scaled to the ranks of Number 2 position of Managing Director, Operations between 2007 to 2011.
As Managing Director, she oversight responsibility for the World Bank’s $81 billion operational portfolio in Africa, SouthAsia, Europe and Central Asia, she also spearheaded numerous World Bank initiatives to assist low-income countries in the 2008–2009 food crises, and likewise during the financial crisis.
Okonjo-Iweala served two term as the Finance Minister of Nigeria from 2003 to 2006, under President Olusegun Obasanjo, and also served as Finance Minister of Nigeria from 2011 to 2015, under President Goodluck Jonathan respectively.
As at that moment, she was the first woman to serve as Finance Minister in Nigeria, and also the first woman to serve twice in that office twice, she is member of numerous international organizations.
Over the years, she has received numerous of awards including Global Leadership Award, Chicago Council on Global Affairs in 2011, Finance Minister of the Year, Africa Investor Magazine in 2004 and more.
